The Lady and the Chat
by Sweet Sammykins
Summary: Marinette had never really put too much thought into the boy behind the mask, and Adrien had never really examined his relationship with his awkward classmate in much detail. That was the case until a certain unlucky cat stumbles to her for help one Parisian evening.
1. Chapter 1 - The cat who got the cream

It had been one crazy night in the city of love, Chat thought idly as he stood hidden in the shadows on a rooftop, watching Ladybug give one final casual wave before she swung towards the glittering light of the Eiffel tower. Although, the majority of the time he spent as Chat Noir could be considered crazy, so he didn't really know what could be classed as crazy for the superhero duo. Their opponents didn't tend to be the stripy shirt burglar types you would see in cartoons, and their Akuma victim that night had been a particularly big brute of an opponent, a boxer in everyday life. He winced and clutched his side with a clawed hand, a small sharp stab of pain reminding him just how brutal tonight's encounter had been. But he would have felt much worse if even just one of those heavy punches had made contact with Ladybug so he was glad in a way.

Part of him was usually sad to see his Lady swing away towards the Parisian lights dotting the night horizon, but tonight part of him was also relieved. He had done a good job of keeping his Lady safe, and keeping his cheeky smile in place during the fight. But he suspected that his smirk would have slipped if he had needed to keep going for longer than they had. Ladybug was so heroic and charismatic, and he didn't want her to think that he was not a capable and reliable partner. He lived for the time he spent with her, the freedom and adventure.

Chat only turned to head home once he was sure that he could no longer see Ladybug in the distance. Only then did he let his proud stance slump, and he started to feel places on his body crying where bruises were already forming. He mentally told himself off for not evading the particularly rough blows and promised himself that he would be faster next time. He had to be for his Lady, after all.

As he slowly wound his way over and through the rooftops, his usual spring more of a lurch, he realised that home wasn't the best place for him at the moment. It was clear that he needed some medical attention, but he wouldn't be able to get that at home without being asked a barrage of troublesome questions on how he had sustained his injuries in the first place. And he really didn't have the energy left in him to come up with a suitable cover story. Though, he wasn't sure whether he would be believed if he had told the truth about his dashing alter ego. He sighed wearily and closed his bright green eyes in a deep frown, temporarily blending into the dark night perfectly. Where could he get help?

When he opened his eyes, the Dupain-Cheng bakery came into focus. With a lift of his heart, he recalled visiting Marinette there… and she had always been a kind classmate, if a little awkward. How would she feel if a certain cat were to pay her a visit tonight? She would most likely have some sort of first aid kit in her room - she was of course always working on outfits and designs which he assumed would carry the risks of uncooperative pins and other minor cuts. He wondered if she would help, and if he would be pushing his already limited luck if he asked for this favour. But before he had reasoned it out in his head, his feet had started carrying him closer to the bakery, pushed on by the pain throbbing in his shoulder blades and stabbing in his side. Besides, it would just be this time.

He drew closer, climbing somewhat clumsily onto the balcony and noted that the light in Marinette's bedroom wasn't on. He slinked as best as he could to the edge of the skylight, pressing his nose against the glass to better peer into the room. It would be creepy to wait for her if she wasn't home, but he didn't really have a better idea. He scowled in disappointment, wondering if he could think of a different plan. Before he could get any further with a conjuring up a new plan, a sudden bright light assaulted his eyes, causing him to hiss and scrunch his face up reactively. Marinette had returned.

What he hoped would have been a smooth and cool entrance turned into a frantic fumble as he clawed against the glass while his cat instincts told him to flee. His legs scrambled in an ungainly manner, crossing over each other and not really coordinating in a way that was productive for running. One particularly sharp flash of pain in his side though was the final straw, sending him face first into the floor, before rolling onto his side, unable to do anything but curl up and groan into the stone. Chat couldn't see Marinette's reaction, but he heard her small shriek. So much for keeping up his reputation as a slick, cool and charming hero.

"Chat Noir!" she squeaked, flinging the skylight open.

Chat removed his chin from the ground, and he gave a toothy, nervous grin, trying to appear as casual as possible. Though, Marinette's raised eyebrow told him that casual probably wasn't cutting it right now. Good job, Adrien.

"Good evening, my princess," he managed, smiling as sweetly as he could. "I just wanted to stop by."

Marinette's eyebrow lifted even further. The absurdity of the situation now only seemed to present itself to Chat. "You just wanted to stop by", she repeated, and he realised how dumb it sounded once she had repeated his words.

"W-well, actually, I did have a reason for dropping by", he began to explain, sitting up slowly, wincing. "I was hoping you could help me."

Marinette's puzzled expression suddenly melted somewhat at his grimaces, and she climbed forward to help him stand. "What happened to you?"

"Nothing Ladybug and I couldn't handle," he winked, brushing aside her question. "But, I was wondering if you had a first aid kit?"

He grinned sheepishly at her, and he could see that she had more questions on her mind, but she obviously chose to ignore them, and helped him to his feet, shaking her head.

"Come inside silly kitty. We'll get you patched up," she said with a defeated sigh. Chat's face lit up at her words, and he was positive that he saw her mouth twitch with a smile.

Down in her room, Marinette pointed toward the chaise lounge sitting underneath the window and Chat obediently followed her instruction. Chat was grateful for the cushioned seat the moment he landed on it, and did his best not to sink completely into it. A cat nap would be perfect right about now, but if his transformation were to run out in front of his classmate, he feared he would give her a heart attack. She didn't quite have the 9 lives Chat Noir often claimed he had, so perhaps not ideal.

"Here we go!" she said brightly, emerging from a cupboard under her desk with a green little box. It stood out amongst all the pink and polka dots that was her room.

"Thanks Princess", he winked at her, earning a roll of her eyes and a withering look that was reminiscent of Ladybug.

"So… are you going to tell me what happened?" she asked, perching next to him and unclipping the box open. "Or are you going to be a cool cat about this one?"

He laughed, regretting it immediately when his side gave him a sharp reminder as to why he was here in the first place. He grasped his side tightly. "Well, that was almost a Chat worthy pun right there", he noted with some pride.

"Honestly, what do you do when a masked hero crashes onto your balcony? I have to say Chat, it doesn't happen every day", Marinette continued, unravelling some bandages. She caught how Chat's bright eyes followed the ribbons of bandage and could virtually see the urge to toy with them written in his face. "So….?"

He smiled sheepishly, nervously running a hand through his hair. It was probably better if he was just straight with her. "I maybe took a few too many punches today. Nothing to worry about, I'm puurrrfectly sure you'll patch me up in no time."

The withering look returned. Chat gave her an apologetic smile in return.

"Well, it's obviously can't be that bad if you're churning out cheesy lines like that", she reasoned with a sigh, but a smile was hiding underneath her frown. "How on earth does Ladybug put up with your shenanigans, crazy cat?"

At the mention of Ladybug, Chat fidgeted slightly, his mood shifting from jovial to wary.

"H-hey, Marinette," he started, glancing at her nervously as her pulled at the zip by his collar, unzipping the top of his suit to reveal a glimpse of toned chest. "Please don't let Ladybug know. Not that she's keeping tabs on me or anything! It's just…"

He turned his head away slightly, unable to look Marinette in the eyes .This was a little but embarrassing to admit, so he focused on removing his arms from his suit as he tried to work out how to phrase the next part. He felt his mouth curl nervously at the corners.

"I don't want her to think that I'm too weak to support her." His suit dropped to his waist, revealing his slender but muscled chest, covered in sore looking scratches and mottling bruises. There was a particularly vicious looking slash just to the side of his ribcage. "I don't want to stop being her Chat."

Chat suddenly found himself feeling uncomfortable under Marinette's gaze, and wondered whether that had been too personal to admit. After a period of silence, he looked back at her to find her stare fixated on him, her expression a mixture of sadness and something else he couldn't quite put his finger on.

"Just our little secret, okay?" He winked at her, his wonky smile carrying a hint of doubt.

"Chat…I'm sure she wouldn't think of you like that." She said it with so much sincerity that Chat almost believed her.

"That's very sweet of you to say…but I don't want her to worry. Ladybug already has so much on her plate saving Paris and I don't need to add to her list of worries."

Chat knew that voice was betraying his fears, but he felt like Marinette could be trusted. He was pretty sure that she would keep this secret for him. Ladybug's thoughts might be a bit of a mystery to him, but he could just tell Marinette wasn't planning on telling anyone.

"I don't think she has to worry at all," Marinette continued, uncapping a tube of antiseptic cream. Chat winced and hissed gently as her fingers applied the cool cream to the smaller cuts. "Ladybug is very lucky to have someone like you. Someone who cares so much for her."

 _I do care so, so very much,_ Chat thought, feeling simultaneously lucky and defeated at his own internal admission. His Lady had a tight hold on his heart that sometimes it was unbearable.

Marinette cringed, mistaking his expression for one of discomfort. "I'm sorry. This will hurt a little bit. I will try and be quick. You really had a number pulled on you."

Chat smiled, some of his usual swag returning. "I can't complain about having such a pretty lady pawing my chest," he purred into her ear as she hovered over him. "I'm pretty sure you must be enjoying this too – I have a pretty amazing physique. I don't let just anyone touch me either."

Her response was to roll her eyes and dab some cream onto the tip of his nose. He went to offer a quick witted reply, instead choosing to cheekily smirk to himself,

"So of all the ladies of Paris, why stalk my trapdoor tonight?" Marinette questioned him, glancing at him as her fingers continued applying cream over the scratches. There were so many of them. "Not that I am not thrilled to have the famous Chat Noir in my room – I was just wondering…"

He considered his answer for a moment _. I'm your classmate and think you're cool and sweet enough to help me without running to the press/freaking out about this whole thing._ No, that wasn't right. Something not so needy, something that wasn't such a big revelation. Something that wouldn't faze her…

"I remembered that time I saved you from your awful date, and thought that you could return the favour," he said, raising an eyebrow, smirk growing wider. "If I recall, I did save you from a sinking boat…"

Marinette was quick to respond. "If I recall, I told you how to use your staff to get us off the boat."

Chat's eyebrow dropped back to its rightful place, his smirk now sheepish. This Marinette did not seem to be the type to faze easily. "Touché, my princess. But I had the situation well under control, I assure you."

The giggle that his classmate made at his comment was unexpected and adorable, hijacking his train of thoughts from his previous heroic feats, to consider the girl who currently knelt beside him. It was then that he had trouble recalling much about her, realising that he didn't know a great deal about. She liked sewing, Jagged Stone and video games, she could make a stunning tray of cookies, was a brilliant designed and…well. That was it. He gazed at her, almost as if he could suddenly glean some Marinette trivia just by looking at the top of her head, and asked himself if he had ever seen her as relaxed around Adrien before.

Sure, there had been moments where she was preoccupied with other things when he had been able to experience the Marinette that his classmates knew – the strong willed, honest, thoughtful and sweet girl that tackled all of the classes problems as student president and stood up for every single one of them when they were in need. Yet, most of the time, she didn't talk to him. She didn't talk to him half as much as everyone else in the class, and often left the scene quickly when he would arrive. He felt a pang of what he could only identify as jealousy, but he was perplexed as to why he suddenly felt like this.

The smallest of his scratches were now out of the way, and her tentative fingers traced round the nastiest of the bruises, as she marvelled at their brilliant colours. Her hands moved slowly and lightly across his skin, until she reached the nasty wound by his ribs. Chat was entranced by her hands working their way across his chest. His unreasonable jealously quickly dimmed into a distant nag in the back of his mind, replaced by a curiosity and anticipation he wasn't expecting, the sensation of her fingers suddenly all he could think about.

"Oh Chat…" she sighed, this time coating her words in sympathy. "This one looks really painful."

Marinette broke her gaze from his battle wound to give him a concerned look. Chat felt the air leave his lungs a little when he noticed that her eyes were so similar to the cerulean glimmer of his Lady's. The thought of staring into Ladybug's eyes caused his stomach to flip, and he swallowed, trying to push back those thoughts for a more appropriate time.

"Ahh, it stings a little", he managed, deciding not to put the tough guy act on. "Actually, it stings a lot."

"This…really will hurt," she warned, dabbing a small amount of cream on her finger before lowering it cautiously to the edge of the wound.

The sharp, burning sting was instant and Chat inhaled a hiss through his teeth, tensing his body at the sensation. Marinette took advantage of his reaction, and carried on, at least having the decency to look apologetic as she worked.

"On the bright side, I don't think any of these battle trophies will scar your otherwise reasonable chest," she joked in an attempt to lighten the mood, a slight tinge of pink creeping on her cheeks.

"Reasonable?!" he said incredulously, a devilish grin revealing that his feelings had not in fact been hurt in any way. He waved a hand down the length of his chest and stomach, her eyes it following quickly. "This is a masterpiece worthy of the Louvre. Look at these chiselled abs, these stunning muscles…"

Chat's grin widened when he caught her drinking in the sight of him, causing her blush to intensify.

"You-!"

"Don't worry, I won't hold it against you", he murmured, giving her a slow and deliberate wink, lips still curled. "Unless you want me to that is-"

"Chat", she interrupted calmly, face twitching with barely concealed irritation. "Unless you want me to stick this cream up your nose-".

His clear laughter rang out at her words, before his side gave his a quick reminder of why he was here in the first place. Marinette had never spoken to him like that before and he had to admit that he quite enjoyed the thrill of teasing her. Would he be able to get her to talk so freely around Adrien?

"I kid, I kid!" he grinned, leaning slightly so he could see her pouting face. "But aren't you a cutie when you get angry."

Marinette wasn't able to finish the first aid quickly enough after that. Once the cream was applied, she wrapped the bandages across his wound and round his chest as speedily as possible, securing it in place with a couple of loops round his shoulder. It was during this time that Adrien made a mental note to spend more time with Marinette. He had underestimated how cool she really was, and he decided that he wanted to get to know better as Adrien. Not many people would have remained as clear headed as she had when a leather clad hero crashes their evening.

 _Only if she lets me hang out with her without going all weird on me,_ he thought sadly, slipping his arms back into his suit, resisting the urge to throw out a joke to the girl who was hastily packing her first aid supplies away.

That night, Chat thanked Marinette and left her on her balcony, illuminated by the light of the fairy lights. He disappeared with a cheeky smirk and small salute into the inky skyline, feeling lifted.

By the time he had reached the window ledge of his bedroom, he had already formed a few plans in his head designed to hopefully learn more about Marinette. The transformation broke as he hopped inside his bedroom, Plagg floating off with a moan about how exhausted he was.

Adrien quirked an eyebrow at him, chuckling the moment Plagg dive bombed into a waiting plate of camembert, obviously not exhausted enough bypass his favourite treat. He couldn't say that he didn't deserve it after the crime fighting session earlier – it had been a long and arduous battle and his kwami friend had helped him greatly. Adrien watched him devour the cheese as he lifted the corner of his t-shirt to check out the damage. But he paused in front of his mirror when he saw the white blob of cream on the tip of his nose.

He narrowed his eyes, smiling wistfully. It seems like he really didn't know his classmate after all.


	2. Chapter 2 - The boy with a plan

Marinette felt flustered. She lay in bed that night, aware of time slipping by, but she just couldn't drift to sleep.

It had been the cat. Or rather, it had been the battered and limping boy in the cat suit that had bothered her in more ways than one. She began to list them all in her head, just to feel some sense of order, however artificial that order was. The first bother was the shock of seeing his goofy face pressed against her skylight as she was about to get changed. The second bother was having to put up with his typical flirty comments and eyebrow wiggles. Her own eyebrows quirks were now a well trained defence system against these wiggles, not that he knew about how well practised she was with it, and not that they ever worked in stopping his flirtations anyway.

The third…the third bother she was trying to break down into something more manageable as it was entangled with the fourth bother. They had both started at the same time, which was when he had unzipped his suit, slipped his arms and torso out and revealed a chest hosting an array of wince inducing scratches and bruises. That was bother number three. Marinette's initial reaction had been of shock and sympathy at how he had gotten himself into such a sorry looking state. She had never recalled him getting hurt before. Yes, sometimes he didn't completely focus on the job at hand so he took a few knocks. Sometimes they had been from her, she added with a small cringe, but he always stood up and fired more dorky trash talk at whoever had dealt the punch. Yet, that somehow made the purple and blue blotches on his skin that more horrible, as if it reminded her that cats don't always land on their feet.

The fourth bother however, had hit her squarely in the chest almost winding her.

" _I don't want to stop being her Chat."_

The look he had given her as he had said that, sheepish and coy, peering up at her from underneath his mask with those exceptionally bright eyes…it had caught her breath. She had felt her heart break for the silly kitty, unwittingly opening his heart to the person he wanted to keep strong for, covered in the bruises and cuts that he earned for the pleasure. The worst part was that there had been all those times where she hadn't even noticed the cat who threw himself between her and any oncoming blows without hesitation.

Ladybug had never really considered how Chat had felt about fighting with Ladybug. Of course, she assumed that he must enjoy it, otherwise, why would he do it? But he had always been cheesy jokes and wild flirtations. It was a surprise to see him so open, so vulnerable yet so willing to return to protect his Lady despite the trouble it caused him.

Marinette recalled his words again and felt her heart sink lower. Ladybug had never really thought about Chat in battle, but she should have paid more attention to her partner. Really, her actions meant that she had practically given him each bruise and each cut on his body herself with her own hands

With that thought, Marinette held her arms above her face, just visible through the moonlight filtering in through the skylight, and examined them. The skin was smooth and free of scars, her hands free of grazes, whole and intact. Unlike his poor body. She groaned and let her hands fall to her face with a muffled slap.

That's when she concluded reluctantly that there was a fifth bother, one that she only identified by the lingering warmth of her cheeks when she recalled his lithe frame underneath her fingertips. Though, the subtle curves of his muscles on his slender frame had always been somewhat visible due to his suit, again it was something she had never really paid any mind to. But the months of fighting, leaping and chasing his way around Paris had, as he had so elegantly put it, chiselled his body. His bright eyes had been particularly irksome when he had spotted her own eyes roving down his body. The jovial smirk that had played on his face only helped to confirm that this evening had been an unpleasant wakeup call designed to throw Marinette's mind in mental loops and generally punish her.

Marinette threw her hands up again in frustration and growled into her pillow, the move earning her a curious look from Tikki. Tonight had basically been Chat metaphorically slapping her in the face by showcasing all the things she had been too self absorbed to notice before slipping off into the darkness once again to leave her to stew with her thoughts.

"I've been an idiot Tikki," she mumbled into her pillow, the kwami still somehow understanding her muffled statement.

"Marinette…you weren't to know," she said sympathetically, floating over to perch on the corner of the girl's pillow.

Marinette turned to her friend, the only one she could really trust to know what she was feeling, and let out a sigh that she hadn't realise she had been holding.

"But I should have," she moaned, scrunching her forehead and burying her face in her hands.

"I'm always too busy doing whatever I'm normally doing to notice to even see what he's up to."

And Chat had taken a fair few hits for her now that the she thought back. There had been the time he had thrown himself before the arrow meant for her, sapping him completely of his joy and love. Or the time he had shielded her from the deadly touch which would have seen her energy absorbed, and she had watched as he faded from her arms, his determination still etched on his clenched face. How many other times had there been that she hadn't even seen?

"You shouldn't beat yourself up!" Tikki advised her, placing a little hand on Marinette's forehead. "Chat wanted to do all these things for you! He wants to make sure you're safe. That's quite sweet, isn't it?

Tikki was right; she couldn't find it in herself to stay mad at herself or Chat. After all, like Tikki said, he had knowingly put himself in front of those hits for her, had willingly made that choice. It made her heart twinge to know that someone was willing to do that for her over and over again, repeat it all, and do it all while wearing a goofy smile for her. Well, for Ladybug anyway. Besides, it wasn't as if Chat knew that the girl tending to his scratches had been the very same one he had sustained them for. As far as he knew, he just needed some first aid, and that's all the fuss he had caused – he was completely unaware of the can of worms he had just opened up. Marinette found herself smiling at the irony of it. He was still causing trouble even though he was trying his best not to.

All she could do was to promise herself to be a better partner to Chat. Ladybug might not have noticed her partner's troubles, but Marinette now knew, and she could rectify it. After all, she owed it to the boy behind the mask who kept coming back to her side with his bright eyes and toothy grin.

"You're right Tikki. Maybe I'll give the silly kitty treat next time to say thanks," she joked.

Tikki gave a nod of agreement, before wishing her goodnight with a kiss on the cheek.

"I'm sure he'd appreciate that."

* * *

Adrien had been scheming. He had it nearly all mapped out as he gingerly put on a fresh t-shirt the next morning, stretching carefully as not to aggravate the cut in his side.

Marinette was a shy creature, so, it was unlikely that he would be able to spend time getting to know her when it was just the two of them. There had been the few times that he had been alone with her where she had been perfectly normal, and the common theme throughout all of those times was that she had been distracted. The time when her Uncle was visiting from China, when they had gone to the Jagged Stone concert, when they had been playing video games…yet…

There was a small nag at the back of his mind that perhaps she still didn't like him. She had quite openly disliked him when he first met her, but perhaps those feelings lingered and she was just trying to be polite and civil whenever she had to be around him. He rather hoped that wasn't the case, but in order minimise the chances of her being distant and overly flustered, he thought he had better rope Nino and Alya in to help. Not that they knew they would be helping- they would just happen to be there for backup.

School was finishing this week, to be followed by two glorious months of warm sunny summer holiday. Adrien smiled at the thought of all those free hours stretching before him – plenty of time to, say, visit the zoo, visit Parisian gardens and museums, or do all sorts of things as a group.

This was where his plan became brilliant. He had his suspicions that Nino had a thing for Alya, but he hadn't managed to weedle it out of his best friend yet, but if the stolen glances and blushes were anything to go by, he was probably spot on. Adrien was sure he could get him to talk this week, especially when he would It would let it slip that he could be the best goddam wing man there was by setting up the best date for them. Then, this was the especially clever bit, he _knew_ Nino would stammer and fluster and saying that he couldn't do it, so Adrien would save that day by suggesting he and Marinette would tag along to ease him into the date.

Boom, and there you had it, he had not only helped his best mate, but he also had the opportunity to hang out with Marinette. He amazed himself sometimes. In fact he was so pleased with his plan that he didn't care when Nathalie raised an eyebrow at his unusually upbeat demeanour at breakfast, or when the Ladyblog website didn't load for his morning update on all things Ladybug. In fact, this plan was almost as great as one of Ladybug's ideas, and they were simply miraculous. Perhaps he could impress her one day with his own fantastically crafted plans for fighting Akumas, and she would be completely helpless to his charm and wit.

"I wouldn't count on that part," Plagg sniggered, when Adrian had finished explaining his great plan, too excited to keep it to himself. "You're putting a lot of effort into this Marinette girl…"

"I owe her," he said simply, taking care to sling his schoolbag on the opposite arm to avoid hurting his side. "She really helped me out last night, and I don't really know anything about her. It would be nice to know more so I can thank her properly."

"You don't think that it would look odd for Adrien the classmate to thanking her for helping Chat Noir the masked hero?" Plagg asked, floating lazily into Adrien's shirt pocket as he held it out for him. "I think she would start asking questions," he added with a playful tease.

"Who said I would be the one thanking her?" he replied, tucking a small piece of camembert into his pocket with Plagg. Plagg understood what his chosen implied, and sighed wearily, already nibbling on the cheese.

"I expect more of this if you want _my_ help."

Adrien laughed. "Yeah, yeah, of course you do. I have already resigned myself to the fact that I will forever smell like mouldy cheese. I think I can deal with that."

"Cheese is much simpler than girls. You don't have to thank cheese."

"But, as I have told you before, girls smell a lot nicer," Adrien reminded him.

For a second, his mind drifted and he found himself thinking of Ladybug's own smell. Chat would often catch it when he found himself entangled with her during their work, or the rare, precious moments where they simply sat and watched the lights of Paris sprawl beneath them. It was… sweet, warm and was of something so familiar that he felt infuriatingly close to being able to name what it was. But the name of it eluded him, and he was never able to turn that familiarity into a word. So he simply called it 'Ladybug'. He was rather fond of it.

Adrien was dragged from his reverie by Plagg's not so charming snort of laughter.

"You've got that look on your face again, _loverboy_ ," Plagg cooed at him. "You're thinking about her again, aren't you?"

"S-so?" Adrien stammered, a blush forming on his cheekbones.

Plagg decided to spare him any further teasing, instead electing to give him a knowing look which unnerved Adrien.

But that didn't matter, Adrien thought cheerfully, as he made his way down the stairs and towards the car that would ferry him to school. He now had a plan of attack. He may be a day dreamer, but at least he'd be able to help his best friend with his own dreams and get to know the girl who helped the hapless cat who had stumbled to her in the night.

As long as his reputation as Ladybug's partner was upheld and he could keep protecting and serving his Lady, then he would always find a reason to smile.

* * *

Adrien was ready to spring his plan into action when he had strolled into school that morning, but when he got to the locker room, he noticed the small crowd surrounding Alya, who was excitedly recounting Ladybug's and Cat Noir's escapade the last night. He headed to his locker, smiling to himself. The only reminder he needed of that little adventure was the feel of the bandages against his skin along with the occasional twinge of pain. He didn't need a punch by punch retelling when his own body was already a perfect reminder of their adventure last night.

"Ladyblog is down," Nino said by way of explanation, casually sidling up to Adrien with a fist bump ready and poised. Adrien returned the fist bump. "Everyone wants to know what happened last night and they can't get their fix from the site, so..."

Adrien sympathised. It was a guilty pleasure of his to stalk to site regularly to find more about his Lady.

"That would explain the show and tell," Adrien smiled, and Nino nodded, eyes drifting back to girl telling the tales.

Everyone seemed to be particularly absorbed, even Chloe who, despite her best efforts to appear disinterested, couldn't help but listen from behind the door of her locker. Marinette was sitting beside her best friend, eyes glued to Alya's phone examining last night's photos with great interest. Adrien could tell from the way her brow was burrowed that she was trying to assess the cause of all the injuries she had patched up last night, and he felt a small surge of affection for her. She was always worrying about others.

He hoped Chat didn't look like too much of an idiot in the photos.

"So, not interested in hearing about the latest superhero news?"Adrien asked his friend, leaning back on his locker, preparing to set the bait for his plan. "I mean, it may not be the story that keeps you interested, but still…"

Bingo. Nino whirled round like Adrien had just slapped him in the face, mouth twitching with a comeback that didn't exist.

"W-what do you mean? I love superhero stories," he hastily replied.

"You mean, you love girls who love superhero stories?" Adrien said smoothly, his lips curling into a mischievous grin.

Nino paled. _Got you_ , Adrien thought victoriously. He could swear that he could see the cogs in Nino's head furiously whirling to supply an answer.

"Dude - I mean – she's, there isn't-"

Adrien laughed and gave Nino a reassuring clap on the shoulder. "Nino! I'm pulling your leg! I've noticed how you've been checking her out recently. You should just ask her out."

Was it too soon to say that? Nino looked uncomfortable, torn between denying his crush on Alya and the idea Adrien had just presented him, which was clearly proving to be tempting. Adrien hoped he hadn't been too pushy, as his friend now looked like he wanted to melt into a puddle and out of sight.

"I can't do that, man," Nino sighed, dropping his denial act and staring wistfully over at Alya. "Just look at her." With that, Nino gestured at her, just as she launched into a particularly sassy comeback Chat Noir had fired at last night's Akuma victim, earning a round of giggles and cheers.

"She's awesome, and she just see's me as her brother. Her brother, dude. That's not cool, that's basically the friend zone, right there."

Even though this scenario was playing out the way Adrien thought it would, he couldn't help but feel for his friend's situation. At least he could help, and it really would do Nino some good to swallow his fears and ask her out. Nino was always far too nervous about this sort of thing.

"Remember when you thought you liked Marinette? And we went to the zoo and Ladybug locked you in the cage with Alya?"Adrien asked, leaning closer to his friend. "Remember what happened?"

"It was amazing?" Nino replied, not quite following where Adrien was going. "We talked all afternoon."

"Yes!" Adrien smiled, throwing his arm round Nino's shoulder, ignoring the painful twinge in his side. "And you know why it was amazing? You were yourself and it worked! You were able to talk to her! Now you just have to do the same again!"

His words seem to bolster Nino's resolve a bit, and there was a small glint of steely determination in his eyes.

"Yeah – you're right!"

"I always am," Adrien nodded sagely, placing his fingers to his chin. "So all you have to do is be yourself and ask her out on for a perfect date for just the two of you."

Adrien had chosen his words carefully, knowing that those last few words in particular would send Nino into a head spin. Just as he expected, that steely determination in Nino's eyes withered.

"The two of us? I don't know. Where would we go? What would I say? What would I do?! Look how much of an idiot I was around Marinette when I tried to ask her out. You need to come with me, I can't do it by myself. I need help. I need your help. Please help?" Nino pleaded.

Adrien made sure to look thoughtful as he answered, suppressing a chuckle at Nino's pitiful plea.

"Okay, okay, calm down! So for the actual date, how about the arcade? Lots of superhero games, Alya loves that sort of thing," he suggested. Nino nodded enthusiastically.

 _Marinette would love it too._

"But it would look odd if it was the three of us though", Adrien continued. "Maybe, I can ask Marinette to tag along so you could have us for company?"

Nino continued his enthusiastic head nodding, pleased with the plan they were hatching. Then he stopped suddenly, as if a thought had suddenly struck him. He paused, narrowing his eyes in careful thought, glancing at Alya, Marinette and then back at Adrien, before clicking his fingers and pointing at Adrien, a wide smile plastered on his face.

"Adrien, you are a genius."

"I take it that you're feeling better then?" Adrien asked, surprised by the about-turn in Nino's attitude. This is that part where he would normally fret about doing that actual asking. "So you're going to ask her?"

"Yeah! I am!" Nino said with a hint of disbelief in his own voice. "This is going to be so perfect – thanks! I'll ask her at lunch time!"

Nino clapped Adrien on the shoulder just as the bell rang for the first class of the day. The crowd round Alya dispersed and the reluctant students started shuffling to their various classes.

"Well I'm glad – I'll ask Marinette at lunch time too," Adrien said, as they followed their classmates and began filing into their classroom.

Adrien couldn't help but think he had missed something, as he couldn't explain the pure delight that radiated from Nino from that point on. It was downright perplexing when Nino turned in his seat to give Alya a meaningful look, to which she replied with a wink. Maybe he ought to give his friend more due when it came to the ladies.

 _Perhaps he would have some tips I could use for Ladybug,_ he mused, opening his book ready for the lesson to begin.


	3. Chapter 3 - The breathless girl

Hi everyone - I just wanted to say I'm grateful for the support this story has received so far! Just a small notice, I have changed the rating to M as this story will be steaming up as it goes along. I love hearing your thoughts, so please feel free to review the story or message me.

* * *

Marinette loved her best friend. She really did, and for a moment she wondered if Alya knew how cool she really was. She always had the best advice and was willing to dole it out in copious amounts, which Marinette was more often than not in dire need of, not to mention thankful for. On top of that, she had a wicked sense of humour, she always had the latest news and she never let anything anyone said get to her, even anything rotten that fell out of Chloe's mouth. But it was that last little trait, her apparent imperviousness to the looks and words of others that was posing Marinette a problem right now.

Because right now, she was trying to convey her deepest, most intense feelings of simmering fury by staring daggers into the side of Alya's face.

Because right now Adrien Agreste was leaning on her shoulders as they hid behind some gym equipment, peering round her head, mere millimetres away from her face. He was trying to assess the situation between Nino and Alya, who were sitting a very safe distance away on a bench. Too far away, Marinette thought, as her daggers seemed to be falling short of their intended target. Either that, or Nino and Alya were secretly enjoying the mess they had created.

"Do you think he's asked her yet?" Adrien asked her, eyes still trained on the couple who were chatting animatedly.

 _No, they're planning their next treacherous move…_ she thought.

Adrien had cornered her by her locker at lunch, all smiles and glittering eyes, waiting to let her in on his little plan to set up Nino and Alya. Admittedly, most of it seemed to have bypassed her somewhat, as she had been distracted by, well, just the fact that he was talking to her. Though, that was before she had caught site of Alya and Nino's traitorous grins and thumbs ups through the window behind him. The two had hightailed it to safety before she could even say 'double-crossers', leaving her with her reddening face and Adrien, who was thankfully too caught up in his magnificent plan to notice her dilemma.

Marinette sighed. It would have been a magnificent plan if those two had actually needed help, which they didn't, and if she was capable of speaking to Adrien without imploding, which she wasn't. They meant well, but she was no good at talking to Adrien by herself-

"Marinette?" he prompted, interrupting her thoughts, and she realised she had left his question hanging, proving her point.

But it was so hard to talk when he was so close that his hair tickled her cheek and she could feel his breath against her neck. His hands on her shoulders were so warm and the thought of sinking back into his chest was terribly tempting.

"A-are you sure they need our help?" Marinette finally managed, squinting at the traitors who looked like they didn't have a care in the world, trying to ignore the blush creeping up her face.

"Yeah, he's got it pretty bad for her!" he laughed. "It's kind of sweet. But don't tell him I told you that. He probably wants to keep it cool, you know?"

She knew. But he had lost his 'cool' status when he had passed Alya the knife which she had used to stab Marinette in the back. He didn't even have the decency to pretend to be asking her out! Or look nervous for that matter.

"He looks like he's doing pretty well by himself," she muttered.

"Oh, don't be fooled," Adrien murmured. "He might be doing alright now, but that's because we're in school and it all feels normal and comfortable. But it's when he gets the date with her – he's going to need our help."

"Our help?" Marinette repeated.

"I was actually going to ask you…"

Adrien tugged gently at her shoulders, pulling her behind the gym equipment, just enough to be blocked from any prying eyes. Marinette was a little thankful, as she suspected she might not have looked as composed or elegant as she would have hoped, so an audience was unwelcome right now. Especially the two pairs of eyes that were sitting on the bench, whom she was pretty sure were watching her and Adrien as much as they had been watching them. Just the thought of it made her cringe.

However, at this time it was Adrien Agreste's attention she had, and it was solely focused on her. As much as that sent a thrill up her spine, it also left her on the verge of breathlessness and barely able to speak. He gave her a coy smile, one hand remaining on her shoulder while the other one rubbed the back of his neck as he worked out how to explain the strange situation Marinette found herself in.

"I said to Nino that we'd both go with him and Alya when they go on their date. You know, so he's not on his own. He's a bit hapless and I think he might flounder without us," he said, unable to quite meet her eyes. "I hope you don't mind."

Marinette barely caught his words, completely sidetracked by how she was close enough to count his eyelashes if she had cared to, if she even could. Then, just as his eyes found hers, his words began to sink in. She found herself lost to the world as she tried to process what he was asking.

 _Is he asking me out?_

She willed words to form, but they hung in the air as he watched her reaction. All she could do was stare helplessly back at him and that is when she caught the flicker of some unknown emotion within the green of his eyes. It had only been fleeting, but she could have sworn it had happened, even if only for a fraction of a second, before they returned to their expectant gaze on her. It was enough to bring her back to reality

"I-I do, I mean, I, I d-don't mind," Marinette stammered, blinking at him.

Good enough Marinette told herself. At least actual words had come out and formed an appropriate answer. She could work adding the charm and basic grammar later. Adrien paused, his eyes curiously scanning her face, though free of that sparkle she had caught moments earlier. But whatever he was looking for in her face, Marinette couldn't tell whether he had found it or not. He finally stepped back, a victorious expression gracing his face as he beamed at her.

Marinette released a breath she hadn't realised she had been holding.

"That's great," he said, sounding utterly ecstatic at what she thought had been a relatively underwhelming answer. "Looks like we're going to the arcade then! Thank you Marinette, you're amazing."

Marinette smirked, feeling a lot more relaxed all of a sudden.

"So amazing that I'm going to beat you at every game in the arcade with my hands tied."

Her answer had caught him off guard, and even herself a little bit. How she had even said that, let alone blurt it out was beyond her. Marinette had never been able to be so quick with her wit out of her Ladybug mask, so she couldn't help but revel in her minor triumph as he stared and sputtered at her instinctive reply. It was short lived though, as he was able to compose himself quickly, his reply following swiftly.

"Your hands tied? Now that is something I would like to see."

The little confidence Marinette had salvaged in the last few seconds now collapsed under her when he gave her a smouldering smile, followed by a deliberate wink. Marinette was certain she must be dreaming, and half expected her alarm to interrupt them at any moment.

Adrien's expression melted back into his normal friendly smile, and he laughed.

"I'm already looking forward to it," he said, picking up his school bag slowly. "See you then."

Marinette raised a hand in a feeble attempt at a wave goodbye before he turned to walk away, not trusting herself to actually say anything in case she ruined the moment. The second he had rounded the corner out of sight, she let out a mangled groan, clutching her head.

"Sooo…. That seemed to go well!" chirped a traitorous voice just seconds later. Marinette forget her own awkwardness and glared at her supposed friend.

"How could you do such a thing!" she hissed at Alya, fingers clawing at the air in a gesture of complete frustration. "You _know_ I can't talk to him-"

"Did he ask you?" Nino interrupted, head poking out from behind the gym equipment, flinching when Marinette's head whirled round to aim her scowl hit him.

"Not you too Nino…" Marinette groaned, sliding to the floor and burying her head in her knees. "Why can't you two just leave me alone to admire him from a distance?"

The last bit had been a bit muffled, but she knew that they had heard her from the knowing chuckles they gave in response.

"Because that's boring! I've been waiting so long for you two kiddos to get together!" Alya said cheerfully. "Thought I better step in and give my girl a helping hand!"

Marinette turned her head slightly to allow one eye to stare fiercely at her. "Did you even _see_ how close he was? I nearly fainted! Is that what you wanted? Can you even imagine that? He would then think I was some weird fainting girl, ruining my chances with him forever –"

"I don't know", Nino said thoughtfully. "If you did that, he could catch you in his arms. That's kind of romantic, right?"

Marinette blushed at the thought, whilst Alya gave the now grinning Nino a hearty thumbs up.

"Ahh the student is learning!" she said proudly. "I have taught you well!"

"I do try," he replied, pleased with the reaction he had provoked before he turned his attention back to Marinette. "So, did he ask you out?"

Marinette bobbed her head slightly in reply, causing Alya to shriek out loud at the success of her plan. Marinette winced at the sound.

"Stop that!" Marinette sighed. "It's not a real date – he thinks we're there to make sure Nino doesn't mess up on taking you out for a date."

Nino and Alya exchanged meaningful glances with each other. "It's a date," they replied in unison.

"It's not!"

"It is," they replied.

A thought struck Marinette that suddenly sent a chill through her. They had already stabbed her in the back once, but was it possible that they were planning to do it again?

"You two aren't going to show up for the date, are you?"

Alya bit her lip and Nino allowed himself to look a little ashamed. Their answer couldn't have been clearer. Marinette forgot her fury and felt panic creeping up in her chest.

"Please don't bail out on the date! That's what you were going to do, weren't you?" she wailed, standing suddenly. "I really can't do it! I'll look like an idiot!"

Alya took pity on the pleading look on her friend's face, her face forming a soft expression when faced with Marinette's one of sheer desperation. She put a comforting arm around Marinette's shoulders.

"Okay, okay! I promise that we will be there," she said, glancing at Nino who nodded. "I am willing to bend my plan just for you I think."

Marinette sighed, the panic subsiding to be replaced with a feeling of weariness. The day was only halfway through, and she was already craving the sanctuary of her own room.

"Thank you," she murmured, managing a wobbly smile. Alya gave her a sympathetic, but satisfied smile in return.

"I know what will make you feel better," Alya sang, giving Marinette's shoulders a gentle shake. "Look what I have here…"

She took out her beloved phone from her back pocket and waved it in front of Marinette, who blinked at it before realising what was on the screen. Marinette felt her breath leave her for the umpteenth time that day when she saw a picture of her and Adrien shine from the small screen. It was of them, just barely minutes ago, when his eyes had locked onto hers, waiting for her answer to his question. Marinette's cheeks turned a deeper shade of pink. She should have suspected that Alya would have been capturing all of her ordeal on her phone! She had often thought Alya could have an amazing career as a spy, if she hadn't been running the Ladyblog, of course.

"That's not all – wait for it," Alya said, swiping the picture to the side, revealing a shot of Adrien giving Marinette that piercing, smouldering smile of his. It was enough to unstitch Marinette and Alya knew it.

"Do you forgive me?" Alya asked her with a smug expression.

"Only if you send me those photos", Marinette mumbled pitifully, grabbing the phone to have a closer look. She knew when she had been beaten.

"Looks like this turned out well then!" Nino announced, throwing his arm round Marinette's other shoulder, sandwiching her between them. "By the way, what is he saying to you in that last photo?"

Marinette gave him an exasperated look. There was no way she could reveal that she had teased Adrien Agreste. But it was something she knew she wouldn't be able to keep from Alya, who would hound her until she broke, so she turned to whisper a hurried explanation to Alya, trying her best not to sink into the ground when she recalled Adrien's response to the thought of her hands being tied. Marinette felt just a little bit satisfied at the slight flustered look on Alya's face when she had finished, knowing that it usually took something monumental to bother her. At least she hadn't been completely beaten and could walk away from the battle with this minor victory.

"Our cute innocent Adrien said _that_?" Alya exclaimed, dramatically placing her hand to her mouth in an exaggerated expression of surprise.

"What?" Nino asked impatiently, clearly feeling left out. "What did Adrien say to her?"

Alya simply answered him with a wag of her finger in front of his nose.

"I don't think you're ready for the sheer awesomeness of it. Plus, I have to keep some secrets for my Marinette, don't I?"

With that, Alya steered Marinette away from a confused looking Nino before he could ask any more questions. It was at that moment Marinette knew that Alya hadn't really betrayed her, and that she never would. Alya was always going to have her back, even if she had some sneaky and slightly questionable tactics tucked up her sleeve. Marinette couldn't complain though, for those sneaky and slightly questionable tactics meant that she was going on a sort-of-date with Adrien Agreste. Her friend was nothing short of incredible.

"Hey Alya, have I ever told you that you're the best friend ever?"

* * *

Adrien stood in front of the mirror in his room, shirt slung over his bed as he carefully unravelled Marinette's handiwork from the previous night. The bruises were magnificent in their vividness, and he couldn't help but find the way that they splotched and splattered their way across his skin almost beautiful. Though, the way the sunlight dappled through the window and onto his body made it difficult to tell where some of the grazes and bruises started and finished. He picked up the new roll of bandage and began working to replace it.

These moments of dusk were usually the only moments Adrien would have to himself. Well, Plagg and himself, he noted, glancing at the kwami who was currently taking a cap nap on his pillow. It was an unusual time where the sunlight softly illuminated the dust that floated lazily in his room, as if time was standing still, a time where he both relished and wished the minutes away.

On the one hand, he liked the chance to relax and collect his thoughts in peace. His life was pretty hectic with schoolwork and photo shoots, so this small window of time when he was free of those duties was precious. It was his time to let his mind relax, though he inevitably always found that his thoughts would drift to Ladybug. When that happened, more often sooner than later, the calm of his bedroom would feel stifling, and he would wish for the night to come so he could wind his way across the rooftops to be by her side. Yet, no matter how strong the urge was, he would settle for these precious moments alone, knowing that the time for Ladybug was close.

It wasn't that he was bored, not at all. He had become remarkably good at keeping himself entertained. It wasn't difficult after all, when he was able to indulge his imagination and daydream about his Lady. He rather enjoyed it, actually. He would simply recall his favourite memories of her, and replay them over and over again. They never dulled in their accuracy, never faded in their stunning detail and always brought a smile to his face.

Other times, if he was feeling particularly indulgent, he would conjure up entire stories about her. These were his guilty pleasure, the things he saved for when even Plagg was not going to disturb him, often when night had fallen and he was alone in his bed. These stories were tapestries of memories, things she had said, expressions she had made, woven in with his personal fantasies.

Adrien liked to consider himself a gentleman, so the stories would start off quite politely, with scenes of dates at the cinema, the two of them linking hands, or the sound of Ladybug's laugh in the air as he told her a joke. But it was so easy to slip into the more sordid thoughts. Too easy when he thought about the way she would gaze at him with quiet determination, the way her body moved and flexed as she leapt and twirled through the air, checking over her shoulder to see if he was still chasing her, or the way her rose coloured lips curled into competitive smile when facing the enemy. She was just so irresistible, and he really wanted to know what would happen if one day he managed to take her down mid-leap, pin her to a wall and kiss her senseless. Would she run her hands through his hair? Pull him closer? _Moan his name against his lips?_

With that last thought, Adrien jolted himself out of his daydream, blushing profusely and dropping the new bandage so that it rolled away from him and underneath his bed. He sighed. Just there mere thought of Ladybug left him feeling more than a little hot and bothered. Just the thought of _them_ together was utterly dizzying…

Adrien slowly crouched to retrieve the roll of bandage, the muscles his in chest and sides protesting as he did. He really hoped that his transformation would help a little with the aching and soreness that was plaguing him at the moment, otherwise he was going to be slightly useless tonight. Part of him also hope that his body would also calm down before he found himself wrapped in the figure hugging leather that was his suit. He was sure his Lady would find it difficult to take him seriously if he tried to complete their patrol with a very noticeable bulge lurking just below his belt.

 _Though it might not be that bad,_ his mind whispered, unhelpfully offering him an array of images featuring Ladybug pressed against his-

Adrien let out a strangled growl, hips inadvertently bucking as he tried to shake the imagery out of his mind. He really had to get his mind out the gutter.

 _Not now. I have to get ready… I have to make sure I can support her. I have to be her Chat._

Reminding himself that he had to be serious, that he had a responsibility to her and to Paris, he managed to sober up and carry on with his first aid, albeit messier and more haphazardly then before.

It would be at a point like this where he found it rather difficult to stop himself from immediately leaping through the window as Chat Noir, feet driven by his suddenly wish to be by her side, to relish in her trust, her respect, her friendship. Although he was always hopeful that she would make one of his fantasises come true, but in the end when she didn't, it didn't actually matter. For him, it was enough to be with her, just to enjoy the small touches, the shared looks, her witty comebacks. And sometimes it was even just enough to sit on the rooftops and talk with her about everything and nothing.

It was easy to talk when it was with Ladybug. Words and laughter effortlessly rolled of his tongue when he was with her. It was never as easy with other girls. Girls were difficult. How on earth was he supposed to know what they were thinking?

Take Marinette for example. Adrien was sure that he had spooked her today when he had been executing his master plan. But even though she had been a bit strange with him, her demeanour had suddenly changed and he had managed to get a glimpse of her cunning wit and playfulness. Adrien in his surprise, had found himself accidentally letting a little of Chat slip into his reply which had sent an unexpected jolt into his stomach, which hadn't been all that unpleasant. And then she had sunk back into her usual awkwardness. Adrien could only reason for it was that she didn't like people being in her personal space. He had gotten quite close to her, now that he thought back.

The fault hadn't been his though, it had been those eyes. They had got him again, drawn him in with their open and kind appearance. They reminded him so much of Ladybug. Maybe he had been daydreaming about her too much? But after seeing those striking eyes, he hadn't been able to stop thinking about Ladybug's own captivating eyes. It was always a wonderful pleasure to gaze into them, however short the opportunity. He had learnt a little while ago that the night lights of Paris were always especially wonderful reflected in her eyes.

Adrien felt his skin flush again at the thought, and he decided to give up on the bandages. He flung them to the side, narrowly missing Plagg who was still gently snoring. Instead, he slunk into his bathroom and opted for a cool shower to dampen his swelling excitement.

He swore softly when the icy water hit his bare skin, stinging at the grazes and cuts. He shuddered and steeled himself, but couldn't suppress the chattering of his teeth. This wasn't the way he thought he would have been spending his time this evening.

If only Ladybug knew the trouble she caused him.


	4. Chapter 4 - The spoilt Lady

The two of them never agreed where they would meet for their night time patrols, as they both just seemed to know where to find the other one. Marinette hadn't figured out how it worked – she just knew that wherever her feet would take her, wherever she leapt and climbed, she would eventually find his bright green eyes in the darkness. Or that they would find her. It was a useful arrangement, but sometimes it bothered her that she couldn't explain how it worked. It just…did. But sometimes, like tonight, she found herself alone before Chat found her.

As she waited, Ladybug chose to enjoy the gentle buzz of night time Paris from a spot on a secluded rooftop where she lay on the tiles. This was the best way to do it, she had found, to just close her eyes and take everything in. It was her way of reminding herself why they did what they did. She liked to think that she could hear the heartbeat of Paris in these moments. It wasn't so much a beat, but a gentle, thriving rhythm with echoes of music, laughter, even the sounds of the traffic and the footsteps of all those they protected. It was humbling and reassuring to know there was much more to the world than Ladybug's or Marinette's problems. It reminded her that there was much more to Paris then just the two heroes.

"My Lady."

Chat Noir's smooth voice drifted into her conscious and it took her a moment to realise he was leaning over her, signalling that actually, it was now just the two of them. Ladybug slowly opened her eyes to see his face inches away. Ladybug couldn't find it in herself to reply with her usual sarcasm.

"Good evening, Chat," she smirked. "Are you expecting a kiss?"

Okay, she lied. One little bit of sarcasm wasn't going to hurt. It didn't seem to bother Chat, if the smirk playing across his face was anything to go by.

"That would be a perfectly fine way to greet me. After all, that is how the French do it."

He dared to lean in closer, and she refused to flinch, her blue eyes locked onto his and sparkling with the challenge of their usual game of cat and mouse. Again, something they managed to fall into on a regular basis.

"What if I said I'm not completely French?" she replied.

The moment she had said it, she knew she had made a mistake. A jolt of surprise flickered across Chat's face before it melted into a sly smirk, an eyebrow raised in curiosity. Ladybug shut her eyes tight in a frown, biting her lip. Why did she say that? He didn't need to know that. She knew from the moment she said it that he was going to make her pay.

"What was that bugaboo?" he cooed, his damn grin growing wider by the second. "Are we playing guess who today?"

Ladybug sighed, sitting up with a scowl. Chat was definitely more cheerful than usual, which was saying something. Now that she could look at him properly, he seemed inanely cheerful, practically bouncing on the balls of his booted toes. Ladybug didn't quite know how to handle him, especially as she had basically added the fuel to his fire.

"What can I say to make you forget what I just said?" Ladybug asked, scooting back to casually lean against a chimney.

"Absolutely nothing," he replied, crouching in front of her in his catlike manner. He tapped his head. "I've got that little bit of trivia locked away forever now."

"Urgh, thought that might be the case," Ladybug grumbled, crossing her arms.

"If it helps, I could always tell you something about myself?" Chat offered.

Ladybug began preparing her usual reply, something along the lines of keeping their identities a secret for their own safety, but the sight of him peering at her from behind his mask reminded her of the previous night when he had sat on her chaise lounge telling Marinette how he didn't want to stop being Ladybug's Chat. The same wave of gratitude that she had felt for Chat last night crashed over her again, and she recalled how she had promised herself that she would be a better partner from him. Perhaps this is where she could start. Perhaps she should change her answer.

"Okay."

Chat's grin wobbled momentarily, surprised that Ladybug had agreed on this occasion instead of offering a dismissal. But the wonky smile returned after his momentary loss of composure and he edged closer to her, his enthusiasm practically radiating between them.

"Okay my Lady, what would you like to know?"

Ladybug blinked at his question. What would she like to know? She had always been so persistent in her refusal to share any personal details that she had never really thought too much about who the boy in the mask was. She wondered whether he would think about who she was under the mask when he went about as his civilian self. Was it strange that she never thought of him as anything but Chat Noir, and not the boy who walked and lived in Paris with her? She really ought to get to know him better. What could she ask though?

"What is your favourite food?" she asked, feeling a little ashamed that she couldn't think of anything better than that. Still, it was better than nothing.

Chat laughed.

"Is that all my Lady? Of all the things I could tell you, and you want to know my favourite food? I could tell you so much. I would even tell you who I am if you asked, you know."

Ladybug studied him carefully. How could Chat be so willing to give up his mask for her? He knew almost nothing about her, yet here he was, happy to tell her anything and everything. She felt a sadness welling up inside her when she thought about how she wasn't willing to do the same for him. He was too good for her.

Her emotions must have shown on her face, as Chat suddenly looked startled, mistaking her guilt and worry for offence. He shuffled towards her, falling softly to his knees so that his hips hovered inches above hers. His hands found hers and clutched them lightly.

"Cinnamon rolls. I love them. Could eat them all day," he said quickly, gently circling his thumb over her gloved palm. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have laughed. It's a good question."

His face was expectant, waiting for her response.

"You dork… you didn't upset me. I just don't know why you would be happy to tell me everything about yourself when you know nothing about me."

Chat's expression softened.

"But I do know, in a way," he replied wistfully. "It's hard to explain, but its little things. Like I can tell just by your body language what mood you're in, even if your face is blank. I know lots of other things about you actually. For example, I know that you have a crazy best friend, your favourite colour is pink and your kwami sleeps with you on your pillow."

He had been counting the items on his clawed fingers as he listed them off, glancing at her in case she offered any rebuttal. But she didn't. Every one of those facts had been true, much to her surprise.

"How can you possibly know all of that?"

"It's easy when it comes to you, my Lady. In fact, I'd quite like to know more."

Ladybug couldn't describe the emotion she currently felt. If she had tried, she would have said it was somewhere between the saddening guilt at being completely oblivious about the boy in the mask, and feeling utterly bewildered, yet grateful by his devotion and kindness to Ladybug. It was like he had hit her over the head with the sincerity of his words. But whatever the feeling was, she could feel it knotting in the pit of her stomach, lurching whenever those green eyes pierced her own.

"You don't really want know who I am underneath this," she laughed weakly, gesturing to her mask. "You might not even like her. She's not a hero, she's not brave, or any of those other things Ladybug is."

Chat's smile remained, and he seemed almost bemused and perplexed by Ladybug's reasoning, as if none of her words were having an effect on him.

"I think she's pretty cool. She's Ladybug! How can she not be any of those things? Ladybug is just the girl in a mask and a cute suit."

He winked at her, but she couldn't quite allow herself to be persuaded. He seemed to know that she wasn't buying his explanation.

"I've seen her punch a hole in a bus, throw herself into a dinosaur's mouth, and jump off the Eiffel tower while rescuing a girl and capturing an Akuma at the same time! Yep, she's pretty cool!" he added, satisfied he had framed her in the best light possible.

"She's not…I'm not…" Ladybug started, scrunching her forehead. She took a breath and tried again. "This is why I don't understand how you can be willing to just tell me who you are. I don't think I could just tell you about normal me! Normal me is not as interesting as Ladybug me. I'm just not…"

Ladybug trailed off, unsure of where her babbling was heading. It was hard to tell whether the meaning she was trying to convey had actually reached Chat. He considered her for a few moments, and she waited for whatever cool Ladybug reference he was going to use to prove her wrong.

"You're just not ready to tell me yet. But one day you will be," he purred, pressing his forehead against hers.

His reply was so casual and spoken with such certainty, like it was common knowledge. His logic had been so surprisingly simple that she wanted to protest, but she couldn't. She couldn't say that one day she wouldn't be able to tell him she was Marinette. That one day she would know enough about him to feel comfortable with sharing her other life with him. And really, would it be so bad? Apart from Tikki, he was the only one who she could share the biggest secret of her life with. Now that she thought about it, it seemed a little absurd that she couldn't share the rest of her identity with him.

The warmth of his forehead against hers was comforting. The move had been instinctive on his part, and he carefully watched her with that sense of longing she had grown accustomed to seeing in his eyes. However, despite it being a look she saw often, it was one she didn't know how to handle, normally choosing to push away his advances with a single gloved hand, putting it all down to his impetuous nature. It was easy enough when it was accompanied with flirts and puns, but on this occasion it wasn't and his feelings suddenly seemed to weigh on her much more than usual. So for tonight, she decided to accept the gesture gracefully, unable to brush his affections off as she normally would. He was definitely too good for her. She felt somewhat spoiled by his kindness, his sincerity.

"Silly kitty," she sighed, smiling sadly at him. "Maybe you're right."

"Of course I'm right," he replied, his eyes not leaving hers until she found that she was unable to hold his gaze. He chuckled, the sound low and deep in his throat. "If it helps, why don't we start off small? I will ask a small question about normal you, and you can ask anything you like about normal me. Maybe one day, the bigger things about our identities won't seem so daunting."

Before she could respond, he continued, answering for her.

"For example, normal me is insanely handsome. I'll let you have that one for free," he grinned, waggling his forehead.

Ladybug sighed with exasperation, but the effect was ruined by the smile her lips were wobbling into.

"Okay, I'll remember that one," she teased. "I'll play your game. But before we start, there is just one thing."

"Yes?"

"Get off me."

The mischievous and very Chat like glint returned to his eyes.

"Nope."

"Chat…" she warned.

He seemed to be enjoying himself far too much right this instance. Ladybug realised that she was currently losing at their game of cat and mouse. No matter, she would let him have his fun before she snatched back control. Chat had other plans though, deciding that he would press his advantage.

"Do you know what? I think I am going to take a seat right here," he smirked, lowering his hips completely until he straddled her own. "You know, to make sure you're _feline_ fine."

That was it; the puns had started now, meaning he was toying with her. Chat couldn't have been any clearer in throwing down the gauntlet for their game, not even if he had slapped her in the face with a duelling glove and asked her to step outside. But he must have felt that this sign wasn't clear enough for his Lady as he tipped his hips forward, dipping his lips dangerous close to hers as he took her hands and held them against the brickwork of the chimney.

Ladybug cocked her head, and narrowed her eyes at him, refusing to give him the satisfaction of a reaction. Chat's messy blonde hair glowed round the edges as the Parisian lights shone through the ends of his untamed hair and she couldn't help but be a somewhat charmed by it. Though, try as he might to appear suave and smooth, the effect was falling slightly flat thanks to the goofy smile creeping on his face, causing his eyes to crease and almost disappear into his mask. Determination flooded her thoughts.

"Okay kitty. Your first question, shoot."

There was just a brief moment of silence as he picked a question.

"Innie, or outie?"

A what… or a… _what?_

"Excuse me?"

"You know, your belly button," he prompted, nodding at her stomach.

It took her a moment for her to realise how ridiculous his question was, before she gave a loud snort and shook her head.

"No! I'm not telling!"

His goofy expression remained though

"That's not how you're supposed to play the game. But that's fine. I know a way I can find out," he smirked, hands diving to her stomach. Ladybug hadn't anticipated this move and was too late to stop him, her hands locking round his wrists as he tried to determine what the answer to his question was. She squealed and squirmed, trying to stifle the giggles as his fingers tickled in their quest.

"Ahh, ticklish then are you?" he asked, eyes brightening.

Ladybug nodded, struggling for breath through her laughter, trying unsuccessfully to prise his fingers away.

"Annnd…it's an innie!" he announced triumphantly. "That's right, isn't it my Lady?"

Ladybug nodded again feebly, trying to regain her poise, the last peals of her laughter fading into sighs. He cheered at his victory, throwing his arms up in the air.

"One could argue that you shouldn't treat a Lady like that," she wheezed.

"I don't know about that, my method proved to be very effective," he smiled. "But I believe it's your turn to ask a question."

Once she trusted herself to speak again, Ladybug looked up at him. She could ask him the same question, but she knew from her glimpse of his torso last night that he was also an innie. However, the memory inspired a new question.

"Do you ever hurt yourself when you're Chat Noir?" she asked, the laughter truly gone from her face.

Chat immediately looked torn. Of course, she already knew the answer, but she wanted to know if he would tell Ladybug. Did he have enough trust in their partnership to admit the truth? Or would he hide behind a joke in an attempt to make sure that he didn't give Ladybug any cause for concern.

"That's not really about my normal life," he said hesitantly. "But, yes. I sometimes end up taking a few hits. Nothing too bad though. This cat has plenty of lives! So as long as you are safe and sound, I don't mind spending them on you, my bugaboo."

Ladybug really didn't deserve this boy.

"Chat…that's very sweet, but I don't want you to-"

"But I want to."

Ladybug had no answer for him. His sincerity was again too much for her. Inescapable, unbearable yet…she was grateful for it.

"Thank you," she murmured. "I couldn't ask for a better partner."

Chat's smile stiffened, and Ladybug realised that although this was what he wanted to hear, he was probably hoping for much more than ' partner'. But she couldn't promise him that. Her heart already pined after another blonde boy.

"It's your turn," she said, trying to break the awkwardness. "Make it a good one. We still have to do our patrol to do."

He placed his fingers on his chin to show mock concentration, and Ladybug hoped he wouldn't ask after her heart. That was too much, too soon.

"There is one thing."

Her stomach lurched. This conversation was heading into perilous territory. Ladybug steeled herself for his question.

"Can I see you with your hair down?"

Ladybug was struck again by his unusual questioning. Although her instinct was to refuse, she was so relieved that she wouldn't have to bring up her crush, so she was happy to oblige.

"Go ahead," she smiled, closing her eyes. "You are so weird."

"Weird and wonderful," he corrected playfully, his smile relaxing.

Chat reached up and gently teased her hair out of the two red ribbons that kept her hair tied back. Her deep blue hair fell in a neat curtain to sit just above her shoulders. Ladybug slowly opened her eyes, pleasantly surprised by the gentleness of his actions. She had been sure that he would have got a claw or two tangled in her hair. Then she saw his reaction.

Chat looked like he was seeing her for the first time. The smile on his face was calm and tender, his eyes tracing her face with that raw hunger she had glimpsed earlier.

"You are absolutely stunning, my Lady," he breathed, eyes travelling up to meet hers again.

Ladybug became painfully aware of how close he was, his breath fanning her lips so that she could almost taste him. She shuddered involuntarily, inwardly cursing at how she was reacting despite the sense of uneasiness that hung over her. This was new to her. Yes, she could normally defend herself against Chat's flirty demeanour, but whether it was because her emotions were running high today or because of his appearance in her room last night, she found that her defences had crumbled around her.

But she couldn't. She reminded herself that she couldn't do this. Marinette liked Adrien. Adrien had her heart. Adrien was the one she wanted. With that last thought, Ladybug tried to wriggle out from underneath Chat, resolute in her decision that Adrien was the one who had her affections. What she felt for Adrien was strong, unwavering.

Or so she thought. As she moved, her thigh brushed against Chat's hips, causing him to jerk and roll them forward to press hard against her own hips. The reaction was like lightning through their bodies. Chat growled at the sensation, the sound throaty and animalistic on his lips. Ladybug found that her own voice had betrayed her with a small keen gasp, eyelids feeling heavy as his breath came in puffs against her skin.

Chat's smile broke, eyes widening at the noise he had elicited from Ladybug, realising what had just happened. He leapt up immediately, cheeks flushing furiously.

"I-uh,ngh. Nuh, I mean, mm- I'm..." Chat stammered, his tongue heavy with embarrassment.

Ladybug tried to find her voice, hoping that the heat between them would dissipate into the night air.

"C-chat – I, it's o-okay. You're uh-"

 _Yes, that really helped_ , she told herself sarcastically. But then she saw the red of her ribbons fluttering in the breeze from between Chat's fingers. She knew how she could fix this, or at least fix it for now.

"My ribbons," she said softly, nodding at the ribbons tucked in his hand.

"Of – of course," he murmured, holding his palm out to give them back. Instead, Ladybug stepped forward, and promptly turned her back to him, raising her arms to sweep her hair up into their usual pigtails.

"My Lady?" he squeaked.

"Would you mind tying my hair back?" she asked, turning to peek at him over her shoulder. She perched on the edge of the roof, tucking her legs underneath herself. "It's a bit hard to see what I'm doing in this light."

He didn't respond, and she worried that he was too embarrassed to follow her lead. But she heard him crouch down, his fingers skimming across the skin on the back of her neck as he went to tie the first ribbon. They sat there in deafening silence, silhouetted against the golden backdrop of Paris.

"I have another question for you," Ladybug said softly. Chat answered with a curious hum.

"Do you really think you could love the girl under this mask?"

Ladybug found that the words left her in something barely more than a whisper. But he needed the reassurance, and she couldn't ignore the spark of electricity that they had shared. Yes, Marinette wanted Adrien, but if Adrien didn't want Marinette then she was frittering away her affections to pine for something that wouldn't happen. So far, she had no reason to believe that Adrien was interested in her. If Chat however, was able to love Marinette as much as he loved Ladybug…could she give them a chance?

Chat paused, having just finished fixing the first ribbon. She waited for him to speak, anxious that she may have just made him feel worse.

"I know I could love the girl under the mask," he replied, walking round in front of her to finish fixing her second ribbon. His green eyes caught hers again. "Because I already do. The question is, could you love me?"

Ladybug again, had no answer for him. She could feel her heart tearing itself into pieces, some of the pieces were for the boy in front of her, and some were for the boy who was plastered on her bedroom walls. Could she walk away from Adrien after pining after him for so long? Could she love Chat? Her mouth twisted, and tears threatened the corners of her eyes. She didn't have the answers for herself.

"It's okay. I know I'm asking a lot," he said, finishing the final loop in her ribbon. "But I will always be your Chat, whatever happens."

He examined his work, nodding in approval, before finishing with a gentle kiss to the back of her hand. Ladybug smiled, and in return he beamed at her warmly. Ladybug might not have the answers right now, but she did have her Chat. She really was spoilt by his understanding and affection. She squeezed his hand.

"Come now kitty," she said, standing up and pulling him up with her. "We still have a patrol to do."


	5. Chapter 5 - The boy who lied

New chapter! Sorry for the wait - this was actually going to be split into 4 parts, but by the time I had drafted the first 2 it was already longer than the other chapters. A whopping 4,450 words. I have really enjoyed hearing your feedback on this, so I hope you continue to enjoy it! :)

Also, top trivia fact: the alternative title for this chapter is "The boy and the girl who threw clothes at their best friends'. Alas, it's not so catchy!

* * *

Adrien was normally the model student. He always arrived promptly to class, always had his homework ready and always got good grades. On top of this, he managed to perform exceedingly well in his fencing class, regularly keeping his tutor on his toes, and sometimes on the floor.

Today was the exception though. Well the last few days had all been one big exception actually. He had forgotten three different textbooks, one piece of homework, and once even managed to leave his phone in the locker overnight. And today's fencing lesson was heading in the same direction. So far, he hadn't been able to parry any of his tutor's lunges, and both he and his tutor were feeling frustrated with what was turning into a very uninspiring sparring session.

Yes, he was definitely cracking round the edges. Adrien knew it was all thanks to Ladybug. It wasn't unusual for him to think about her a lot, but the memory of that evening had been on a constant loop in his mind since, resulting in restless nights and gentle teasing from Plagg regarding his chosen's regularly flustered state. And there had been so much to send his brain into meltdown - like the way she had let him pin her against the wall, or the way she looked with her hair down. Or that gasp – yes, definitely that gasp. _That hitch in her breath when they-_

The tip of his tutor's weapon caught his chest again and Adrien let out a frazzled sigh, his stance slouching in defeat. His mind had been completely derailed. How was he supposed to focus on anything when his mind kept replaying that scene over and over in his head?

"That will be enough for today," his tutor sighed, removing his fencing mask and letting Adrien seen the very obvious disappointment on his face. "I suggest you practice more in preparation for our next lesson."

Adrien chose to respond with a quick nod. He couldn't exactly explain that he was still stiff and tender from the beating he got when he was Chat Noir, or that the reason for his absent mind was that he was desperately smitten with the city's resident polka-dotted hero. So he would just have to let him believe that he had been letting things slide with his practise. Although, it was quite ironic, as his time as Chat Noir gave him ample opportunity to practice his fencing skills. His staff made a good substitute for a sword.

His tutor turned to walk away, leaving him standing in the courtyard of the school to wallow in his guilt. It was only then he remembered that Nino was sitting on the sidelines, waiting for his practice to finish. Nino stood and joined Adrien, just as he pulled off his fencing mask. Despite the fresh air hitting his face, he felt warm and agitated, his hair plastered to his forehead. He couldn't tell whether it was his poor performance or his poor self control with his thoughts that was making him look and feel like a mess.

"Dude, tough break," Nino said, giving a low whistle.

"He's right though. I wasn't good enough today," Adrien said, tucking his mask under his arm.

"But you survived, and now it's time to go have some fun!" Nino grinned, clapping his arm round Adrien's shoulder and guiding him towards the changing rooms. "I think you need it after this week."

Nino gave him a sympathetic look, which Adrien knew translated into something along the lines of 'what has been wrong with you this week?'. But he knew Nino wouldn't ask, purely out of politeness. Nino knew the normal pressures he had in his life, like his father and his busy schedule, so perhaps he was just chalking it up to that. Adrien grimaced at him, feeling like he should be offering some sort of explanation for his unusual behaviour this week. Even if he boiled it down to 'girl troubles', he knew he would come under heavy questioning from his best friend. He chose to bury the idea altogether, resigning himself to the thought that he would just have to handle this all by himself and be thankful that he had a friend who didn't pry too much.

"Yeah, tonight is going to be great," Adrien said, trying to sound as casual as possible. "Are you going to pick Alya up from her place?"

At least tonight would keep him away from all thoughts Ladybug related. Today had been the last day of school, meaning that tonight was the big date night for Nino and Alya. At least, despite his difficulties with generally being able to function this week, Adrien had not forgotten his misson. Well, his two missions - not only was he going to make sure that their date would be fun as possible, he was also going to get to know Marinette a little bit better while he was at it. He hadn't forgotten that he needed to thank her properly for her first aid prowess at the beginning of the week. Adrien appreciated that it had been a bit of an unexpected visit.

"No, I thought it would be best for the girls to meet us there," Nino answered, following Adrien into the boy's changing room. "So she doesn't get nervous."

"Are you sure it's so you don't get too nervous?" Adrien grinned, opening his locker. He suspected that this arrangement was for Nino's benefit more than it was for Alya's.

Nino's brow furrowed in confusion.

"Why would I be nervous? If anyone was going to be nervous it's going to be Mar- ma, ma, my man!" Nino stammered, trying to appear cool by leaning on Adrien's locker, forgetting it was open. Adrien managed to jump backwards before the metal corner smacked him in the side of the head.

"Whoah! Why would I be nervous?" Adrien laughed. "I think someone isn't telling me the truth."

Nino chuckled nervously, refusing to look at Adrien and instead chose to study the edge of his t-shirt. Oh yes, his friend was definitely nervous.

"Nah, it's you who should be nervous! I'm going to outclass you with my amazing dating skills.

"That's the spirit," Adrien said, rolling his eyes before a fleeting wave of confusion crossed his mind. "Wait a minute, outclass? It's your date. I'm not the one doing the dating."

"What about Marinette?" Nino asked.

Adrien's mind stalled. What about Marinette?

"You know, Marinette, your date for tonight?" Nino elaborated when he was met with Adrien's blank stare.

Ah, this was where he was going with this whole thing. This was problematic. Adrien held back the sigh he could feel forming as he inhaled.

"Marinette is just a friend," Adrien explained, reopening his locker and taking out his gym bag. "And she is Alya's best friend. We are going to be there to make sure you kids play nice. And that you don't turn into a robot when you talk to Alya. We don't want any repeats of the zoo, do we?

He hoped that was a good enough explanation to stop Nino's overactive imagination running away with itself. Adrien didn't want to mislead anyone, he only had eyes for his Lady after all. Marinette was sweet, but she wasn't Ladybug. His Ladybug sent his heart racing with just a smile, his Ladybug glowed in the darkness, and she defended Paris with every breath and step she took. It was his Ladybug who he craved to be with during every waking second.

Marinette wasn't his Lady.

"Are you sure? She's pretty cute. She's wicked funny too," Nino teased. "Are you sure you don't have even a little bit of a crush on her? You could have picked any girl to come with you on the date, but you picked her."

"She's just my friend!" Adrien replied, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "Well, I think so anyway, she doesn't really talk to me much, so I don't really know whether she is funny. And like I said, I asked her because she is Alya's best friend."

"You'll have plenty of time to talk to her tonight," Nino replied, a sly smirk growing on his face. "You could get to know her a little…"

Adrien narrowed his eyes. That was his plan, but he didn't need Nino, or Marinette knowing that. There was no easy way to explain why he wanted to do that. His choices were to lie and say he had a crush on Marinette, or confess the truth about his leather clad, Akuma fighting alter ego. Adrien couldn't see either of those conversations going smoothly, and once again he was reminded of the infuriating secrecy that being Chat Noir required.

"You know, I don't have to come along tonight…" Adrien signed dramatically, peeling off his fencing top and balling it up before throwing it squarely into Nino's annoyingly suggestive face.

"NO! I mean, okay, I'll stop calling her your date!" Nino hurriedly exclaimed, his voice muffled by the top. Nino pulled it off, laughing. "You win, you win."

That did the trick. He knew Nino's nerves would get the better of him. And his reasoning wasn't completely a lie. It did make sense for Marinette to go as she was Alya's best friend and their friend too. He knew there was more to her, and he wanted to get to know the side of her that he saw as Chat Noir, but he had no romantic intentions, no matter how much Nino teased him.

But the laughter had now gone from Nino's now pale and worried face. Adrien followed his line of vision to the fading, but still clearly visible bruises that covered his skin in a weird patchwork of yellow, purple and blue. Adrien mentally kicked himself. He should have just got changed at home.

"Dude?"

"It's nothing," Adrien said casually, trying to wave it off. He was growing embarrassed under Nino's questioning stare, so he quickly reached for his t-shirt, deciding that he would rather get out of here and shower at home.

"Dude, that doesn't look like nothing!" Nino exclaimed, still staring at the bruises scattered generously across his chest. His eyes practically boggled when they caught the edge of the wound on his side, which was healing well, but was still a nasty deep red in colour. "That looks pretty gnarly. What happened to you?"

How on earth was he supposed to explain his way out of this scenario? As much as he loved being Chat Noir, and boy did he love it, he could honestly say that he didn't enjoy having to lie about a lot of things to keep his identity a secret. Lying was difficult, he had discovered, and he wasn't particularly good at it. The trouble was, a good lie had to be convincing and reasonable enough to cover up whatever it was he was hiding in the first place.

Adrien had a great imagination, but it was too fanciful for coming up with decent excuses. It wouldn't help him to escape from class to say that he was late for his trip to the moon, or because he needed to feed his pet giraffe or that he had to leap of the Eiffel tower. Actually, on second thought, that last one had actually happened on a few occasions. Admittedly, being Chat Noir meant that he had done a lot of things far more interesting than anything his imagination could come up with. Ride a dragon? Check. Fight in a giant mecha robot? Check. Work alongside two Ladybugs? Check.

Actually, his imagination had used that particular moment for his own purposes a few times since then. He liked to think his version of how it should have ended was better than the original.

But he sometimes would wonder if anyone would actually believe him in the first place if he said he was Chat Noir. Probably not. And as much as was tempted to tell his best friend this right now, just so he didn't worry, he knew it wouldn't go down well. He also had to think of his Lady – revealing his secret could put her at risk too. So for now, he had to continue weaving his web of flimsy lies.

"I, uh, fell of my rock climbing wall," Adrien hastily lied, hoping his hesitation wasn't too noticeable. "Kind of stupid, I know."

It was hard to tell whether Nino was buying it. Despite Adrien having now shoved his t-shirt on, his eyes still seemed to linger where the bruises had been, as if trying to see through the fabric. His eyes narrowed, making Adrien feel like he was being x-rayed. Adrien shifted uncomfortably.

"You fell off your rock climbing wall?" Nino asked, doubt dripping from every word. Adrien nodded.

"And cut your side open?"

"Y-yeah, there was a rough bit on one of the rocks, and I just kinda caught it."

He hoped the extra detail would be enough to dissuade him from further questioning, but it hadn't.

"A small little bit of rock did _that_?"

Adrien nodded again, dimly realising again that he really was useless at fabricating stories. He wanted to take back his earlier thought about having a friend that wasn't too nosy. But then before Adrien could further defend himself, Nino shrugged. It was small and reluctant but it was there.

"Okay then."

He didn't probe any further, but Adrien was unsure whether it was because he believed him, or whether because he was clearly incapable of anything but nodding today.

"But you know, if something's up, you can tell me right?" Nino added.

Once again, Adrien simply nodded, frustrated with his inability to do anything else. At least that had confirmed that Nino didn't believe him. But he was backed into a corner and he couldn't really say much more without making his story sound any more absurd than it already was.

"It was an accident," Adrien replied. "Nothing is up."

Another lie. Though, ironically, the bruises were the least of his worries at this time.

He wished he could confide in someone about how much his heart was in knots for Ladybug. Since their last patrol he was definitely was acutely aware of the feeling that would pool in his stomach and throat. He knew that for the most part, their conversation had been about getting to know each other better, but he had also sensed that they had been skittering along the edges of something more personal, something more vulnerable. He hadn't dared pressed the matter, probably because he was afraid to find out whether her heart belonged to someone else.

It was selfish on his part really, and he knew this too. The mere thought of it sunk his heart, so he opted to remain ignorant, indulging in a world where it was still possible for Ladybug to be his. Perhaps one day he would find the courage to have that conversation with her. They had agreed to open up to each other a little more, something that delighted him to no end, so perhaps it might happen. For now though, he would have to lie to himself a little longer.

Nino didn't poke the issue any further as Adrien finished changing, but his sceptical gaze never left him, as if he was hoping that Adrien's actions would tell him more about the puzzle of bruises and cuts on his friend.

"Let's head off," Adrien smiled, closing his locker. "No reason why we should hang around here when school is out for the summer and we have an evening with two lovely ladies lined up."

Nino's expression lit up, almost as if their previous conversation hadn't happened.

"Yes!" he cheered, posture slumping forward in relief. "No more homework or exams! We need to celebrate in style tonight bro!"

"You got it," Adrien grinned, holding his fist out so Nino could fist bump it, which he did with enthusiasm. "Besides, I have to defend my score against Marinette on Ultimate Mecha Strike III."

"No chance dude," Nino snorted, heaving his bag over his shoulder. "That girl is the queen of that game!"

"I wouldn't say that," he grinned. There was a certain Lady who had won at the real deal, but he shook the thought out his head, telling himself that tonight was about thanking Marinette and not about Ladybug. "Marinette is bound to have a weakness."

"That she does," Nino said, earning a raised eyebrow from Adrien.

"Go on then, what is it?" Adrien asked.

Nino sighed, and looked at him disbelievingly. Adrien waited expectantly, confused at Nino's sudden weariness.

"Man, you really don't have a clue do you?" Nino laughed, scratching his ear nervously. "Never mind dude. You never know, she might feel sorry for you and let you win a few games tonight."

"Hey! Not cool. But I'll let you off as tonight is about you and Alya!" Adrien replied. He had the feeling that he was missing something here, but Nino didn't really seem to be in the mood to elaborate on what this could be. Adrien didn't ask, afraid that he had already pushed his luck today with Nino.

"Mm-hmm," Nino agreed, somewhat cryptically, following Adrien as they walked out the changing room. "We'll see about that."

* * *

Marinette knew she was being fickle. Why was she being fickle? Well, to start, she knew that this 'date' that Alya and Nino had set up was just an elaborate plan, and therefore not an actual date, but that didn't stop Alya's constant reassurances that it was a real date to actually start sinking in. Therefore, Marinette found herself in her bedroom with Alya's company, staring at the pile of clothes heaped on her bed, fully aware that fretting over what to wear was a pointless activity. Pointless because it was for a fake date that was actually a real date. That didn't stop her from fretting though.

"You seem really worried about your outfit," Alya said, looking up from her phone as Marinette growled in frustration at the clothes. "I mean, it isn't like this is a date or anything."

Marinette turned her head just in time to catch Alya's wink, and Alya managed to duck just in time to dodge the incoming jumper that was thrown her way.

"I blame you. And Nino, for that matter," Marinette accused, returning her attention back to the clothes, hopeful that something would present itself as suitable. "How do you even have time to meddle with my love life when you have the Ladyblog to look after?"

"What love life? Girl, kissing your pictures of Adrien goodnight every night isn't a love life," Alya laughed, causing Marinette to scowl at her.

It was a joke, and Marinette knew better than to feel frustrated, but to be honest, she had a point. Until now, Adrien had been nice enough to her, but hadn't really shown a romantic interest in her. And she couldn't even tell if he had any such interest right now. The closest they had ever had to romance was when they nearly kissed for their film project, which didn't count. Even if she had managed to put her hands on his chest. No, there wasn't an ounce of electricity between them that wasn't coming from her. A fact she had come to realise when a certain cat was playing with her hair a few evenings ago.

And that was why she felt frustrated – there was something else nagging at her mind. Chat Noir, a boy who did have feelings for her.

This fake date could go one of either two ways, she decided. They could go out, he would fall hopelessly in love with her, and she would owe Alya and Nino a lifetime supply of cookies from the bakery for making her dreams come true. Or, they could go out, have a lovely time, but not fall in love because Adrien was focused on making sure his friend didn't make a fool of himself. And it was that scenario that she was worried about and which she knew, despite her optimism, was probably what was going to happen.

That part she was worrying about, was what she would choose to do next with scenario number 2. She could fall back into her normal cycle of chasing and pining for Adrien, someone that experience had repeatedly told her that she wasn't going to get, someone that wasn't going to love her in any way more than as a friend. The other choice… was one she was nervous about. She could turn her attention to Chat, a boy she knew a lot about, but didn't actually…well, know.

Alya's voice seemed to drift her out of her thoughts, and she realised she had been staring too intently at the pile of clothes, a frown creasing her forehead.

"Look, you need to relax," Alya said, moving from her perch on Marinette's bed to stand beside Marinette. "You have so many nice clothes that you could pick something at random and it would be guaranteed to make his jaw hit the floor. Here, let me help."

Marinette opened her mouth to protest, but sighed and nodded feebly instead. Better to let her friend make this decision when she already had to think about a million other decisions and the choices she needed to make.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Tikki's head peer over the top of her cat pillow, as if she knew the conflict that was plaguing Marinette right now. Well, Tikki did actually know, as Marinette had confided in her the last few days, but she was always impressed by how the little kwami seemed to know the exact moments she was feeling particularly troubled. Tikki gave her a wide eye look of concern and Marinette gave the smallest of smiles to let her know she was fine. Tikki seemed to accept this, shooting her one last look of concern before snuggling back into the pillow and out of sight. Thankfully, Alya had been too busy digging into the mountain of clothes to notice the little ball of red.

The next half hour consisted of Alya picking out various outfits, holding them against Marinette for inspection, before placing shortlisted candidates to one side, or flinging the rejected items on the floor. Marinette complied quietly, trying on things when it was demanded of her, and twirling for a further inspection if required. She didn't mind, it was easier this way.

She used the time to explore the option of a world where she would start to seriously consider Chat Noir, or rather, the boy that hid behind the mask. Though, she couldn't say he was hiding exactly, in fact he had expressed on many occasions that he would be happy to take the mask off and reveal who he was. Could she actually let herself be persuaded by him and reveal her identity?

Marinette tried to imagine a time where she might reveal who she was to him, really tried to picture it all, from what she would say, to the expression on his face as he reacted. But the imaginary Ladybug in her mind kept stuttering sounds rather than words, and Chat's face became hard to picture. She didn't know what the boy looked like without his trademark mask and ears. Her mind couldn't seem to pry itself off his glowing eyes. It all seemed…off. How could she even begin to imagine a future with a boy whose face she didn't know? It wasn't made any easier when she could see the various faces of Adrien staring at her from the walls, judging her and her fickle heart.

"Voila!"

Alya stood proudly, brandishing a skirt and a blouse featuring the cute face of a black cat in front of Marinette. She stared back at the cat face and smiled weakly, mouth twitching. Marinette had forgotten she had even had that blouse, and she swore she could hear the tittering of Tikki at how ironic it was.

"I might be a bit cold in that," Marinette said, noting the length of the skirt and the lack of sleeves on the blouse. It might be best to avoid the cat blouse. She was trying to put Chat Noir at the back of her mind for now.

Alya held her finger up before she could say anymore, lifting a pair of lace-up boots and a blazer. "I've got you covered girl."

Fine. Cat blouse it was then. Irony was something she could handle. As much as it was temping to dive headfirst under the pile of clothes so she didn't have to think about anything, she couldn't ignore the part of her that wanted to see what was going to happen tonight. She could feel it winning over her other thoughts as she reached out to take the clothes from Alya. She could do this. She could totally do this. She was Ladybug. Ladybug was fearless. Plus, as far as Adrien knew, this was a real date. That had to be a good thing.

Marinette chanted her mantra in her head as she dressed, before giving Alya one final twirl. She was Ladybug, Ladybug was fearless. Ladybug was strong. Ladybug knew what to do. Ladybug was calm.

"Very nice! If I wasn't caught up in this whole journalism thing, then I might just make a decent stylist. Just don't flash him," she teased, eyeing the hemline of Marinette's skirt as it bounced and fluttered against her thighs. "Girl, don't get me wrong - you're gorgeous! But let's not give the boy a heart attack. Although that may not be such a bad thing now that I think about it."

Marinette was appalled.

"Why would I do that?" Marinette squeaked in shock.

"You can be a bit clumsy," Alya explained, her words hanging in the air as Marinette processed a multitude of horrendous situations involving her skirt misbehaving.

Ladybug was strong…Marinette on the other hand was weak, a complete chicken and just a blushing, clumsy pile of awkwardness just waiting to trip and stammer her way through the evening into oblivion. Marinette couldn't do this.

"I have to change-"

"No you don't! It won't happen! Forget I said it!"Alya interrupted, grabbing Marinette's hand as she attempted to return to the clothes pile.

"But-"

"But we're late! Late for your date with Adrien," Alya sung.

Marinette sighed.

"Its not a date," she huffed, smoothing her skirt down before reluctantly following her friend towards the trap door and down the steps.

Alya just gave her one of her well worn and shrewd smiles.

"We'll see about that."


	6. Chapter 6 - The girl he wanted to know

The evening wasn't really going to plan, much to Adrien's frustration. It seemed he had overestimated his matchmaking ability, because half an hour into the date and Nino and Alya had barely spent any time together, and he hadn't been able to say much more to Marinette than a quiet 'Hi' when they had met outside the arcade. At this rate, he would fail at both his missions, and he wasn't going to have that. Especially as Nino was cutting a pitiful figure next to him, trying to look casual while he sipped at a soda, waiting for Alya to finish the shooting game she was having with Marinette. This was unacceptable. He was Chat Noir; failure was not an option, even if he was trying to be cupid. Besides, he bet that Chat Noir would probably look great with a bow and arrow.

Desperate to save the evening, he scanned the scene before him, trying to figure out his next plan of action with the tools available, hoping that some Ladybug-like stroke of inspiration would strike him. If she could do this under pressure, then it shouldn't be too much trouble for him now, right? But the place was dimly lit except for the bright and colourful screens of the machines, their loud noises and jingles blaring out obnoxiously. Nothing was standing out as particularly useful.

He pouted. He needed something to bring Alya and Nino together, something which would then leave him to speak to Marinette. That, he decided was his battle plan. However, he couldn't see much in due to the glaring and constant flashes of the many screens and lights. He was barely able to make out Alya and Marinette nearby, animatedly firing plastic guns at a screen.

Adrien smiled. They were cute. Marinette was definitely winning, her aim unwavering and frighteningly accurate. Her laugh rang out as Alya's character got tackled by a zombie, earning Marinette a frosty glare from Alya. Adrien found himself listening to Marinette's giggles until they were swallowed into the noisy soundtrack of the arcade.

Yet, he was still on a mission, so he only watched them for a few more seconds before carrying on with his search. His eyes landed on an air hockey table, a little more subdued than the surrounding games, but perfect, none the less for what he was planning. This evening called for some team work. He needed to tag his best friend into this game.

Alya's final shriek of frustration signalled that their game was over, and Marinette's delighted cheer confirmed her victory. Now was his chance. He tapped Nino on the shoulder and signalled for him to follow, which he did with a knowing nod.

Let the games begin.

"That looked like a good game," Adrien said, walking up close to the girls so they could hear him.

He knew it was a risky thing to say, considering how Alya's knuckles were white as she gripped the plastic gun tightly. She turned and gave him a strained smile, to which Marinette couldn't help but grin at. This turned out to be quite infectious and Adrien had to wipe the smirk off his own face when Alya's eyes narrowed at him.

"I think I'm ready for something else," Alya managed, shoving the gun roughly back on its stand despite her apparent calmness. "Something that little Miss Gaming Champion here won't steam roller me in."

Marinette's grin turned sheepish, and she busied herself with the edge of skirt to avoid everyone's gaze. Her winning streak might ruin the mood tonight if he let it carry on any longer, so he hatched another plan.

"What about a team event?" Adrien suggested, pointing at the air hockey table.

The girls looked over it, and Adrien noticed the growing glee on Marinette's face as she sized up the challenge. He really had to stop that girl from winning. If she annoyed Alya too much, then tonight really wouldn't going to be a good night for the fledgling couple.

Nino seemed to notice this too, quickly catching Alya's arm to steer her towards the air hockey table and away from the impending storm that was Marinette. "I'm a master at this game. It's my lightning fast reflexes you see."

Alya snorted, but there was a smile on her face. Good. That was a good start.

Marinette went to follow the couple, but Adrien looped his arm through hers and whirled her round to face the opposite direction, cutting her path short. The move earned a small squeak from the girl, and a flash of impatience cross her face before her confidence faltered momentarily. She peered up at him. Adrien ignored the familiarity of her eyes that registered somewhere in his subconscious.

"Be on my team," he murmured into her ear, resting his spare hand on her shoulder as he dipped his head to her height. "We need to be on the same team so they can spend some together. And, maybe, we should go easy on them?"

It was just a suggestion, one that she greeted with a puzzled expression, before she realised what he was trying to do. Adrien was certain he could see the battle between her desire to win and her wish to see her friend be happy play across her features before she sighed, and nodded.

"Okay. I'll try."

She looked disappointed, which wasn't exactly what he had been going for. For some reason, it bothered him more than it should have, cutting into his thoughts and making him feel anxious. But, it meant his plan was still in play, so he was grateful in a way.

"You're awesome," he murmured, squeezing her shoulder, hoping it would help cheer her up.

Marinette's head whipped round to face him so fast that they her head nearly collided with his. Adrien could see the blush forming across her freckles and the uncomfortable line her lips were forming. It was difficult to escape her searching eyes though. Perhaps she wasn't good with compliments. He really couldn't tell – she didn't seem like the same girl who smeared cream on his nose the other day when he had remarked that she was enjoying his semi-naked appearance in her room. This was a different Marinette to that one. He wanted to know what those eyes meant.

He wanted to see that Marinette again.

"Come on. I'll treat us to ice-cream afterwards," he smiled at her, trying to curb his disappointment with the shy version of Marinette standing beside him. The night was young after all, and maybe all she needed was time to open up. Marinette didn't answer, but she also didn't stop him when he took her hand and led her to where Nino and Alya were waiting. He squeezed her hand reassuringly, and felt the tiniest squeeze back. It was a small gesture from her, but he felt his heart lift none the less.

However, minutes later, his optimism for the evening was waning. In fact, he could feel the beginning of a headache pulsing at his temples, and was pretty sure he had a nervous twitch in one eye. The reason for this was standing right beside him and she was effortlessly destroying Nino and Alya, along with his plan. He winced with every puck she hit, most of them flying by their opponents and into the goal with ease. He could almost see his plan crumbling before him, being chipped away with every goal she scored. So now he had to stop the unstoppable girl, unless he wanted his plan to completely disintegrate.

"Er, Marinette," he said, raising an eyebrow. She raised one back at him, and it was loaded with that confidence she had shown earlier.

Adrien gave her a disbelieving look. What happened to going easy on them? If this was her pulling her punches, he wanted to see what she was like when she was trying.

"Our deal?" he hissed at her, completely forgetting about the game.

"What? I'm giving them a chance," she replied, letting a puck slide past her paddle as if to prove her point.

"Really?" he answered, not believing her for an instant. "I must have missed that chance…didn't see it."

Sarcasm. Not Adrien's usual style, but it was second nature to Chat Noir.

"Well, sort of, I mean, I'm trying. I can't help it if they're too slow," she teased, shrugging. "Plus, you're not really pulling your weight Mr Agreste."

Adrien frowned, but was perfectly aware of the smile curling at his lips as she added that last comment. He couldn't muster the energy to stay annoyed at her. Has she ever teased him before? As Chat, yes, as Adrien, not so much. There was something about it though that he couldn't resist. He wanted more, but there was a mission he had to complete.

"Wanna dial it back a bit Mari? I mean, I know we're gaming champions, but these two aren't quite-"

"Hey. We can hear you blondie," Alya's voice chimed in. "I won't aim for the goal next time if you keep saying things like that."

"I won't stop her either," Nino said, grinning. "Getting in her way would be a mistake."

He had a point. Better to live and see another day than face the wrath of Alya.

"Sorry, sorry," Adrien laughed. "To show you guys how sorry I am, how about I give you both a hand?"

Before either of them could respond, Adrien's arm bolted forward and blocked the puck, which was heading straight for Mari's ever vigilant hand, sending it sailing just out of her reach. He purposefully kept his face blank when Marinette glared at him, summoning the most innocent and nonchalant expression he could when he did catch her eye. He was vaguely aware of Nino and Alya stifling their laughter, but he didn't dare look at them in case he lost control of his mask of innocence.

"Did you just…?" Marinette asked incredulously.

"Did I just what?" he replied, feigning ignorance, eyes wide and playful.

It was the smallest of pouts, but the sight of it on Marinette's face was satisfying none the less.

"Okay kids, best of three?" Alya asked, expertly hiding her snigger. Nino's eyes glimmered, eagerly waiting for the events to unfold. He had worked out what was going to happen.

"Of course," Adrien smiled. "Go ahead."

Nino took the cue, and set a new puck down ready for the first strike. Adrien could see Marinette tense and lean forwards, anticipating Nino's shot. He was ready too.

As the puck rushed towards Marinette, Adrien let his arm cross in front of hers, almost comically. His paddle skidded into hers, knocking her aim off course, letting Nino's shot glide lazily past them and into their unprotected goal. This time, he was certain there had been a sigh from Marinette, but he just smiled at her, keeping up his act.

"Whoops."

"What are you doing?" she asked, trying and just barely managing to keep her voice free of annoyance.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he smiled, straightening up.

Her face flickered, revealing a faint, but disbelieving smile in place of the pout.

"In that case, my shot."

Marinette drew her hand back, judging the shot before precisely applying the right amount of power to her shot. Or rather, it would have been the right amount of power if Adrien's hip hadn't bumped into her, throwing her hand off target. She grazed the side of the puck clumsily, sending it spinning uselessly into the side of the table, allowing Alya to send it shooting back at them with ease into their goal.

"Aww, so unlucky!" Adrien chirped, throwing Marinette an exaggerated shrug. Marinette made no effort to hide her feelings, her jaw set in a grimace while she glared daggers at him. If he didn't know better, he could almost feel her piercing eyes on his face.

It quickly became a game of whether Marinette could avoid his constantly protruding elbow. Or hip. Or shoulder. Or basically any part of his body that he could use to bump into her or block her aim with. With each strike he thwarted, Marinette was becoming increasingly and more noticeably frustrated. Her hair becoming wilder, she huffed, refusing to meet his teasing grin. His calm demeanour was obviously winding her up, though he could feel it slipping as his grin grew wider and wider.

Finally, after a particularly cunning block where he had hooked her leg with his foot, knocking her off balance, she let go of her paddle, clenching her fists by her side, but ultimately surrendering the game. Alya and Nino cheered, celebrating their victory with a high five. Adrien blew a tuft of hair out of his face, smiling wearily at the couple.

"I've only met one person as annoying as you," Marinette muttered, cocking her head and refusing to look at him. Adrien peered at her, pleased to spot of Nino and Alya sidling away from them in his peripheral vision.

"How did you deal with them?" Adrien asked, genuinely curious.

She thought carefully about this for a moment.

"I don't let him win," she smirked, her gaze softening somewhat at the thought of this annoying person. "He's a persistent guy, so he keeps trying. I kind of like that about him though."

Adrien was completely lost – who did she mean? What exactly was this guy trying to do? Win against her at games? Maybe he should have asked. Then again, maybe he shouldn't have. He could hazard a guess from her expression that this was perhaps too private for his ears. Yet, that didn't stop him wanting to know.

"Who knows, maybe he might win soon," she added, with a sigh.

Her eyes caught his, prompting whispers of jealousy at the back of his mind. He tried to dismiss them, but the inexplicable knot in his throat did nothing to help him argue against these emotions.

"Well, I know I can win against you," he laughed nervously, trying to lighten the mood.

"Oh really?"

"I'll prove it," he declared, stooping to her eye level with a wide smile. "But first, I promised an ice cream, and an ice cream you shall have."

Adrien nodded to the purple lit booths by the café that edged the floor of the arcade, tucked away so that people could eat in relative peace, away from the noise and glare of the games.

"Sure! I, er, I mean, you don't have to…"

Sassy Mari had disappeared back into her shell, and Adrien wondered what he had done to shoo her away. Her awkwardness continued even up to the point when they were sat in one of the booths, a giant ice cream sundae sitting between them. He had spotted Marinette staring wistfully at it on the menu, but she had protested when he offered to get it for her, mumbling that she wouldn't have been able to eat it all by herself. That didn't matter to him though, as he quite fancied the look of it himself, so he had ordered the biggest one he could, making sure it was absolutely dripping with chocolate sauce, sprinkles and marshmallows.

"Th-thank you. You didn't have to do this," Marinette murmured, staring at the monstrous ice cream.

"Don't mention it," he said, trying to tear his hungry eyes off the ice cream. It was probably the size of his head, which was absolutely perfect. "I don't often get the chance to eat many sweet things, so I wanted to try it too."

"I guess you have to be careful as a model," Marinette said, idly fiddling with her spoon.

"Not tonight! Go ahead, Ladies first."

She gingerly took a small spoonful, while he waited patiently. The moment her spoon hit her lips, he eagerly dove in, taking a huge spoonful. Nothing was getting In between him and glorious ice cream. It wasn't particularly elegant of him, but he managed to eat the whole spoonful in one go. It was delicious and he decided there and then that this had been one of his better ideas that night.

"Isn't it gorgeous?" he chirruped gleefully, licking his spoon joyfully.

Marinette responded with a small smile and muffled hum as she savoured it, looking down at her lap. She really didn't look like she was enjoying this. His previous doubts about Marinette suddenly re-emerged, making it hard for him to enjoy the ice cream. Perhaps now was the time to address the thought that had been nagging him for some time.

"Marinette..."

He put down his spoon and turned slightly in his seat.

"Have I, I mean, have I done something to offend you?"

Her breath hitched, and she looked horrified at his suggestion.

"N-no! I- of course not! Why would you think that?" she hurriedly said, frantically waving her hands at his chest.

"It's just that you're always so quiet round me. I thought you that you might – that I might have-"

He was silenced by her hand on his arm, cutting his ramble short.

"I'm sorry if I made you feel like that," she said. "It's not like that at all. You see really, I – I mean I guess I'm actually- what am I saying?"

Adrien laughed. Marinette could pull the most fantastic faces as she talked.

"We're not really good at explaining how we feel, right?" he offered.

Her face smoothed into an exasperated smile. "Something like that."

"I can understand that," he said, relaxing slightly. "Still friends?"

"We were never not friends," she answered, her smile honest and reassuring.

They sat for a few moments in comfortable silence, slowly eating the ice cream. Adrien felt relieved that he hadn't upset Marinette. Maybe now, she would be a little more like her outgoing self around him.

"So is the ice cream bribery then?" Marinette asked after a few minutes.

When he looked back up at her, he was greeted with a cute smile.

"I could say yes, but I just wanted ice cream really badly," he replied sheepishly, enjoying the sound of her laughter that followed.

There was something familiar and warming about it, but also something new and exciting about her laugh. It was like he had heard it a hundred times before, but at the same time as if it was the first time he had truly listened to it. Adrien tried to put a name to the emotion, really searching for the right way to describe it, but all he really knew was that the invisible barrier between him and Marinette was starting to crumble, which was a powerful thing. It was beautiful, really.

"To tell you the truth, I was worried about tonight," he admitted as her giggles faded.

"Oh?"

"I thought Nino might struggle to relax round Alya," he explained, reigning himself in and leaving out the part where it had been mainly set up so he could spend some time with her. It would be unfortunate to scare her just as she was beginning to relax around him. He might as well just rebuild that invisible barrier if had done that.

"I don't think you need to worry about those two," Marinette said, sounding unimpressed. "They managed to wander off by themselves early enough…"

"I know – it's great!"

Marinette sighed, and gave him a sad smile. "Is that what that performance was about over there? Making sure they won and had a good evening together?"

Adrien took another spoonful of ice cream, appearing thoughtful while he avoided her eyes. "I don't know what you mean."

Her response was swift, and came in the form of flicking the large spoonful of ice cream he held upwards so that the ice cream hit his nose. He blinked at her, taken by surprise at her playfulness.

"Whoops," she said, completely failing at keeping a straight face. She hid her face behind her fingers when he quirked an eyebrow at her, losing her resolve and deteriorating into a fit of giggles. It was impossible to get mad at her.

"You know, the only reason I'm not returning that favour is because I don't want to ruin your shirt," he said, dabbing at his nose with a napkin.

Marinette glanced blankly at her front at the black cat staring out at the world. Adrien's eyes flickered down too, quickly returning them to her face when he realised how rude he might have looked.

"It's cute. Just like you."

Adrien wasn't sure why he had said it. It had rolled off his tongue as quickly as the thought had formed in his head. The compliment seemed to have a catastrophic effect on her ability to talk, giggles dying down and her eyes widening so much that he could see the surrounding fairly lights reflected in them. Quick, he needed to change the subject, something that wouldn't embarrass her.

"How about, I challenge you to a game of Step Dance Frenzy instead?" he offered, nodding at the dancing arcade game sitting across from them. "I'll give you a fair chance at beating me. I'm not sure you can manage it though."

When he was greeted with a wide eye stare he wondered if he had been a bit too cocky, but her eyes sparkled and she quickly returned his grin, determination gracing her features. Adrien knew then that she had taken the bait.

"Wanna bet?" she said, her voice so confident and challenging that it sent a spark along the length of Adrien's spine.

It was when he was standing on the metal arrows and Marinette was rolling her shoulders in preparation that Adrien wondered if his confidence has been mistaken. Nah, it couldn't be that bad, he had an edge that she didn't. As Chat Noir, he had spent countless evenings clambering and leaping over and under the Parisian rooftops and streets, he had swung down elegantly from his staff many a time and…well, that was about it. The rest of the times he had been somewhat clumsy for a cat. He made a mental note to himself that he had to work on that next time Chat was stalking around Paris.

Nino and Alya had emerged from whatever corner they had been hiding in, and were loitering close by with a faint look of curiosity and bewilderment. At first he felt pleased that the two of them were bonding, even if it was at his expense by reinforcing the sense of uneasiness he was feeling. But then he thought that it might be nice to not have an audience for what could well be his sound defeat at the hands of Marinette. Or more accurately, at her feet.

"What have you done? No one challenges Mari to this game," Alya said, shaking her head for emphasis. "You know why? Because no one wins against Mari. Ever. Have you seen my girl's moves before?"

No, in fact, he hadn't seen her move before. But they hadn't seen him move before either. If he didn't have to keep the whole Chat Noir thing a secret, he would have liked to have defended his own general physical prowess. But, tonight he was Adrien. Not a superhero. Nor was Marinette for that matter for she was blushing furiously as she was tried to ignore the compliments her best friend was throwing out.

"Hey, I have some moves too," Adrien replied, feigning the hurt in his voice."I'm not too shabby at fencing."

Alya and Nino shared a look which conveyed a whole conversation. That conversation mainly being about how Adrien was being stupid, that fencing was apparently not going to cut it here, and that boy, was he going to learn this the hard way.

"Oh bless you," Alya cooed. "You just try your best now."

Marinette sniggered, quickly trying to hide it behind a cough.

"Yep, bad call bro. I'd throw the towel in now," Nino suggested. "You still have you pride dude."

"I'll still have my pride at the end of it too, you know," Adrien countered.

Nino shrugged.

"Want some popcorn?" he asked Alya.

"Popcorn! Perfect! Just what we need to watch this car crash!" she exclaimed.

"She's joking, right?" Adrien asked Marinette. She stopped her stretches and gave a feeble shrug.

"Well, I'm okay at this, I g-guess."

Oh no. She was being humble. Yes, Adrien might have made a mistake. This called for some Chat Noir front, and hopefully some Chat Noir moves if he could manage it without Plagg's help.

"Don't lose your cool now, Mari. I'll let you pick the track," he teased, hoping that he would start believing in the confidence in his own voice.

She jumped at the use of her nickname, but her mouth stretched into a sly smile, refusing to let his teasing tactics deter her.

The track she picked was, for want of a better word, insane, opening with a ludicrously fast an insane guitar solo before the drums kicked in and really upped the pace. Marinette was taking it in her stride, twirling and stomping in perfect rhythm, even managing to sway her hips and clap along to the song. The tempo was easy enough to keep up with after, and after a couple of faltered steps he found that he was managing to hold his own against her, though perhaps with not as much style and flare as Marinette.

"Not bad!" Alya called from behind them. "But not quite Marinette level."

"We'll see about that," he huffed.

With that, he dropped backwards and hit the two arrows behind him with his hands, kicking at some of the arrows in front of him, before springing back up to land in time with the song, throwing a bold grin at Marinette. She didn't seem fazed by his antics, dropping down to mimic his move with ease.

"Watch out for the next bit," she warned.

"I'm sure I'll manage," Adrien replied. He winked at her, causing her to miss a couple of steps. She resumed her normal pace, now with a subtle frown on her face.

"Okay then. Here we go," she said, tapping arrows as she spun around to face him, but kept moving forward to intrude on the arrows on his side. One quick glance at the screen showed that her arrows were migrating across to his side of the screen… and his arrows were sliding across to her side.

"Oh, I've got you," he said, placing his hands round her waist so he could spin around her and to the other side. "I though you were playing dirty for a moment there."

"I can if you want me to, but you look like you're struggling," she laughed, dropping low to hit an arrow between his legs.

The move was quick, causing her skirt to flutter tantalisingly high up her thighs, before bouncing back down as she jumped back up. Adrien managed to miss quite a few steps at that point, grateful that she was too absorbed with the game to notice where his eyes had lingered.

 _Look at those legs…_

After they has performed a few more spins and claps, they ended up facing each other, and he was really able to watch the way she moved. It was almost natural, and definitely worlds apart from the clumsy girl he often saw tripping over herself in school. But even stranger than this was the realisation that he found himself subconsciously moving in tandem with her, and that it was…easy. It was if they were in sync, which was strange when he had only been on one of these dancing arcade machines a couple of times before. It was like he knew where she was going to move, and that he knew how to move to accommodate her.

This girl definately had a bit of crazy in her. The raw determination in her stance seemed familiar, and suited her well. He was trying to recall when he had seen her like this, and all the times she had rallied the class in during Akuma attacks presented themselves to him. This was the unflappable girl that had told them to barricade the doors of the town hall, the girl who had run after her friend when she transformed into Lady Wifi on the subway and the girl who helped Chat Noir when he had tumbled onto her balcony. This was the girl he didn't know. The one he wanted to know.

But it was that smile, that determination and confidence that was shining so strongly from it that he was finding irresistible. This was the Marinette he wanted to see more of.

The tack was building up to its final few notes as he contemplated this. Marinette stretched her leg low underneath his to reach the correct step hiding behind him. Adrien stepped over it at the last second, his left hand holding the small of her back to keep her balanced as his body leant against hers. With a satisfying finality, he slapped the final arrow that was tucked behind her.

Nino and Alya wooped as the machine whirred away totalling their scores. He looked up and grinned triumphantly at them.

"A-Adrien?"

Marinette's voice was small in his ear. Adrien looked down at her and realised the compromising position they were in. It was strange, this didn't feel as invasive as it should have, but none the less he pulled her up as he stood, to spare her blushes.

"Sorry about that – I guess I got carried away!" he apologised. "I had to pull out all the stops to keep up with you."

"Sorry dude, you obviously didn't pull out enough. Marinette's got you beat," Nino announced, pointing at the screen which was telling them that Marinette had beat him by a few thousand points, earning herself the number one high score on the machine.

Marinette cheered excitedly, rushing to Alya for a high five before returning to enter her initials on machine, cementing her victory. As she did this, Alya edged to Adrien's side and gave him a nudge with her elbow.

"Sorry Adrien, my girl is just too good at this. Maybe next time," she said.

"Yeah, next time," he said absently, watching as Marinette turned to smile at them, the satisfaction fitting well on her normally introverted features.

There definitely needed to be a next time.

* * *

Of course, Alya had filmed the whole thing.

Marinette wasn't sure why she was even surprised. Common sense told her she should have stopped being surprised by anything Alya did, especially if it involved her phone and her super undercover journalist abilities. But Marinette and common sense weren't always the best of friends, and Alya was simply amazing. These were the facts of life.

"Look at you two getting all close," Alya teased, waggling her eyebrows at Marinette as they shut the trap door in Marinette's room, having just got home.

She wasn't wrong. Marinette hadn't noticed at the time, but some of the moves they were throwing were bordering on…intimate. Marinette cringed as she watched Adrien's hand skim the small of her back just as she had thrown him a very sultry look. Of course, it hasn't been intentional.

"I can't believe I did that!" Marinette yelped, hiding her mouth behind her splayed fingers.

"I'm proud of you!" Alya said, her face beaming with satisfaction. "Finally, my little Mari and Adrien-"

"Nooo, stop that!" Marinette hushed her, waving her hands frantically at her gushing friend. "Nothing happened!"

"Oh really?" Alya asked, and by the tone of her voice Marinette knew she wasn't going to like what she was going to show her. "What do you call this then?"

"Do I want to see this?" Marinette asked, throwing off her shoes.

"Well Adrien was definitely seeing something."

Marinette squeaked, lunging for the phone and landing ungracefully on her bed as she seized it, ignoring Alya's warnings to be careful with it. The evidence was there –the moment her skirt betrayed her and floated upwards. Adrien had seen it. Yup, he had definitely seen it. There went any dignity she had. She knew she had only a precious little dignity when the night had started, but it had been hers before her skirt had stolen it away. She let her head flop into her bed covers, letting out a muffled and strangled sound.

"Don't be like that girl," Alya reassure her, rubbing her back. "I think he liked what he saw-"

Marinette swivelled round so fast. " _What if he saw my underwear?!"_

"Then he was a very lucky boy," Alya winked at her, earning another strangled squeak from Marinette.

"I am ready for this bed to swallow me," Marinette muttered.

"Fine, let's get ready for bed. But you still have to tell me all about tonight!" Alya said, standing to get her bag from the corner. "You're not getting out of that."

"There's nothing to tell," Marinette replied groggily, starting to pull her clothes off. "He was all focused on making sure you and Nino had a nice date

"Uh-huh, so what was all that during the air hockey?"

"That was n-nothing."

"And sharing the ice cream?"

"Again, nothing," Marinette reiterated, pulling on her pyjamas.

Alya fixed her with an accusing stare, trying to wheedle out some newsworthy update from her. It wasn't going to work.

"Really, it was nothing. He thought I didn't like him, so wanted to make sure I didn't."

Alya seemed to droop at this. Marinette felt herself drooping too, but knew it was ridiculous. What had she been expecting? For Adrien to sweep her off her feet? For him to give her an ice-cream kiss? She had been expecting too much. Especially if he had thought that she didn't like him. He didn't exactly seem to be on the same page as her.

"So there was nothing?" Alya asked.

"Absolutely nothing," Marinette confirmed.

"Absolutely nothing apart from the obvious flirting," Alya stated.

"He wasn't flirting Alya."

"Oh, my poor Mari! Didn't you see it? Even Nino noticed it!" Alya exclaimed, pulling on her own pyjamas. "Speaking of Nino, he nearly ruined the whole operation. He tried to give Adrien some not so subtle hints about you being cute before the date tonight."

Marinette, who had moved onto brushing her hair, sighed.

"You two need to stop meddling in my love life," she smiled.

"Well Nino does, as that boy nearly blew our cover," Alya huffed, fluffing her pillow. "I told him not to give Adrien hints! Nino can't do subtle! He's as subtle as a hammer. I'm surprised Adrien hasn't cottoned on yet."

Marinette smiled shyly, not sure on how to respond on Alya's commentary on Nino's attempt at playing cupid.

"I hate to break it to you Mari, but you might be in love with an idiot," Alya teased, sticking her tongue out at Marinette. "He hasn't exactly noticed when it's been in front of his nose."

"That's a bit harsh," Marinette said defensively. "And noticed what?"

"My sweet, naïve Mari. He hasn't noticed his own crush on you."

Marinette winced as the brush slipped from her grasp.

"Crush on _me_?" she spluttered. "He's just my friend."

There was no way Adrien had a crush on her. Tonight had proved that – he had definitely been far more interested in ensuring that Nino and Alya had a good time, and was completely oblivious to the fairly obvious plan that Nino and Alya had concocted. Even with Nino's 'hints'. Nope, that boy did not have a crush on her, as disappointing as it was to admit it.

Alya simply removed her glasses and crawled underneath the bed covers.

"You must have it bad if you can't see it."

"Tell me something I don't know. With a boy like Adrien, it's serious," Marinette whimpered, padding her way to the bed, pausing on the way to slip a cookie into her purse for Tikki to snack on. She tried to ignore the cat that suddenly and inexplicably popped into her head.

Marinette turned the light off and slipped into bed beside Alya, pulling the covers tight around them before letting out a big sigh. She felt far too tired to even try to inspect in great deal how she felt at the moment. With the darkness staring to fall on her and dull her senses, she thought it would be best to sleep on it. Hopefully the morning would be calmer and let her decide on what she wanted to do.

To wait for Adrien, or to give Chat Noir a chance.

"Night Alya," she yawned, shutting her thoughts off before they could run riot in her head and effectively ruin any chance for a peaceful sleep.

"Hey, can you keep a secret?" Alya said, her voice dipping to a whisper, despite it being just the two of them cocooned in the duvet of her bed.

"You know I can," Marinette smiled.

Alya paused, and the silence felt somehow heavier in the darkness.

"Nino told me that Adrien has all these bruises over his body. He saw them when he was changing after his fencing class."

It seemed like Marinette wouldn't be getting that restful sleep that she was currently craving after all.

"Bruises?" Marinette asked, a sudden feeling of worry creeping up on her. "But he seemed fine tonight."

"Girl, he's always fine to you," Alya said, nudging her shoulder, and Marinette could just about see her eyes crinkling in jest.

"I can't deny that!" Marinette chuckled, but it sounded hollow in the light of Alya's news. "But how did he get them?"

"He fell off his rock climbing wall, or that's what he told Nino. But Nino wasn't sure he was telling the truth."

Marinette considered this. She wouldn't be able to tell without looking at the bruises, but it was possible he could have gotten them from falling off a rock climbing wall. Adrien wasn't the type to lie, but if Nino had thought something was wrong… they couldn't exactly ignore it right? Marinette was perfectly aware that both she and Alya were trying not to voice the possible things that could result in someone being covered with bruises. But it was there like the elephant in the room.

"What should we do?" Marinette whispered, as if speaking any louder would somehow leak the secret despite it just being the two of them in her room.

"I don't know. He didn't say anything else to Nino so I don't know if he'd talk to us."

They lay there in an uneasy silence, trying to come up with a reasonable plan.

"Maybe, we should keep an eye on him? Nino can report back on whether it happens again," Alya suggested.

"Y-yeah, maybe that is the best idea," Marinette agreed.

Only she didn't agree. She had a better plan. She would go speak to him, but not as Marinette. He might open up to Ladybug. She found that she had a calming effect on people when she was wearing the mask, though she wasn't sure whether it a power from her miraculous, or whether it was because people looked up to Ladybug. At any rate, she couldn't ignore a friend who might be in trouble. She wouldn't.

Eventually, the two girls drifted to sleep, even if it took a while for Marinette to finally succumb to sleep, despite her resolution. But even then, sleep took hold of her deeply enough to ensure that she was oblivious to the cat who had landed lightly on her balcony.

Chat Noir carefully placed an envelope on her makeshift table, weighing it down with a potted plant he had moved from the ledge. Taking advantage of his cat like reflexes, he silently crept to the edge of the skylight and peered through the glass. He could easily see the two girls curled up peacefully, tangled into the soft mass that was Marinette's duvet. He smiled to himself, his bright green eyes studying Marinette's serene face.

Pausing only for a second, he then turned on his heel, footsteps light as he walked to the edge of the balcony. A second later, he was gone, hidden by the Parisian darkness.


	7. Hello lovelies!

Wow, there's a ton more of you lovelies reading this since ceejles shared her artwork based on the story!I want to apologise for the delay, and for all those who are asking if this will continue... yes! Yes it will, and most of the next chapter has been written! So thanks for your patience and I hope you stick around for the next chapter!

(Did someone say... akuma attack?)


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